Dark Sun Rising
by Aries Zodiac
Summary: River is captured again and Simon goes to find her, enlisting the help of some old friends. Serenity searches for it's missing. And the secret of the Alliance is discovered, the consequences of which will lead to the Second Independence War.
1. Default Chapter

**Dark Sun Rising**

_Anrea (aka Aries)_

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_Oh, Firefly, how could they cancel you?… sniff … _

Set soon after Ariel.

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**Serenity: **

It was hard to tell days in space. What was a Monday when the nearest sun couldn't be seen and all that surrounded you for a billion miles on every side was endless wheeling blackness. And of course, different planets had different ways of keeping time and cutting it into manageable chunks without such a foreign and antiquated custom as the one from Old Earth. So the days of the week didn't really mean anything to the crew of _Serenity_ as they flew towards a small planet in a relatively unknown binary system, right on the fringes of Alliance territory. At least, not to most of them. Mal, Zoë, Wash, Kaylee, Inara, Jayne, even Book didn't think about it much but to Simon they were still part of his only connection to home, and so, he kept watch on the days, and knew the seasons as they passed. Book knew his holy days- Christmas, Easter and other times of special religious observance, although not Sundays anymore. It had been a long time since Sundays had been anything more then a day off, planetside. But Simon knew his days, and, when Friday 13 of April rolled around he knew it would not be likely to be a good one. He was right. Friday 13 April would be a day the crew of the ship _Serenity_ would remember… and even regret

**Remratown, Dencelos:**

It had seemed to be an ordinary day with a job. Not quite legal, but not as illegal as some they had completed. A little matter of rearranging the location of stock so as not to inconvenience the owners of the land it was currently grazing on. More to the point, it needed to be done in a discreet and non-tax-deductible fashion, - which is where the crew of a certain ship came in.

"You specialise in logistics, yes, Captain?" the seemingly sweet elderly woman had enquired politely of Mal after they had been introduced by a 'mutual friend'.

"We specialise in a lot of things." replied Mal guardedly. He didn't trust little old ladies, no matter how sweet they might appear to be. And this one had an altogether disturbing glint in her sharp steel eyes. Besides, little old lady she might be, but she controlled this planet absolutely. No- not one to trust.

"Come, come, Captain Reynolds! Don't be shy about the many talents of your crew- I know more then you might think."

"Ah, yes? Well…"

"Yes indeed. Like the secret panel in the wall of the main cargo bay. Very useful for smuggling, dear me, I meant to say _moving_, of course, moving, shall we say, unusual cargo around? Or even…" here she leaned forward with those same damn scary eyes glowing;

"… people…?"

Mal blinked but managed to keep his face neutral as he sipped his drink, buying time for himself as his mind worked furiously. _Tamade!_ She wasn't, no, she couldn't possibly know about the two shadiest member of his crew. And in a crew that contained Jayne Cobb, that was saying something. Well, the Firefly class ship was hardly exclusive to his particular area of space. Obviously she had them in her own small planetary fleet and -as for the people comment- was it just a stab in the dark…slavery, perhaps? He put down his drink as he let his face settle into a cold stare.

"I don't traffic in people, Ma'am."

She laughed. "Good boy, neither do I. Cattle on the other hand. Well, now, that is a different story, if you might be willing to join me for another drink and maybe we'll discuss it?"

**Serenity **

And so, that was why they were flying halfway across the local galaxy, it seemed, with a cargo-bay full of cattle. Wash and Jayne had both moaned a bit, Wash in particular but mutterings had soon ceased when it was pointed out that a job was a job and a damn well paid one at that.

So, so far, so good. Until Friday 13 of April had arrived, and brought with it a whole heap of trouble. The first bit of trouble was when it was Simons' turn to feed and muck out the cattle on that morning. He sighed to himself but didn't complain- it wasn't as if everyone else hadn't already gone through the same chore before, he'd just happened to be last on the list. The cattle were reasonably peaceable while he raked out the soiled bedding and Jayne tossed down the new stuff from the steel walkway above. Simon dodged the next load from the man with the pitchfork, who had a malicious and unerring aim, and tried to tell himself that at least he could count himself lucky that it was only the clean stuff landing on his head. They had just about finished spreading the bedding around the cattle when the ship started banking and rolling like a rollercoaster in a hurricane.

"Whoa!" yelped Jayne as he rocked on his feet, grabbing for the rail and dropping the pitchfork as he did so. As it turned out he was lucky.

"Yaggh-umf!" came from down below him; Simon, caught unawares, was tossed sideways into the nearest heap of mobile beef- a sturdy young heifer which was spooked enough by the rolling without this final indignity. With a toss of her huge head, she stampeded, inciting the other cattle as she did. Simon, on the ground, stayed in as small an ball as possible, covering his head with his arms for protection as the thundering hooves went past, receiving enough kicks to leave him breathless, but fairly unharmed. When the cattle had past, he lay where he was for a second, winded.

Jayne looked down over the railing. "You still alive down there, or are we gonna hafta find us a new Doc?" he questioned unsympathetically.

"Ye...yeah- I'm okay…" Simon sat up and scowled at the milling confusion of spooked cattle at the other side of the large bay. Ow- that hurt! Before standing he checked himself over- nope, nothing broken, but…he hissed as he found what was gonna come up a beauty on his ribcage. Oh yeah, that was gonna hurt. As he stood up he called back up to Jayne, who was still peering over the rail.

"How about we find the pilot and find out what the hell just happened there?" he suggested, holding his abused ribcage.

"Reckon I might just agree with ya on that one…" as Jayne leaned down to pick up the discarded pitchfork, the ship gave its final lurch, causing Jayne, already unbalanced, to fall against the rail, and the pitchfork to slide right off the walkway and fall to the ground below. Or nearly.

"Watch…!"

"Ugh…"

Simon was really not having a great morning.

Jayne ended up having to carry him to Sickbay, where he deposited him on the bed and wondered what to do. Damn- wasn't this a classic case of physician, heal thyself? He hoped it wasn't serious cos' frankly, he didn't have a clue. So he went to the bridge. He hadn't reached further then the doors of Sickbay, when River nearly steamrollered him. She paid him no attention, but rushed to her beloved brother.

"Ummm…. do you know what to do?" he asked her, feeling kind of foolish for even asking, but damn, he may not like the Doc, but the Doc had patched him up on numerous occasions now, and, well, he was kind of responsible for the guy nearly getting brained with a pitchfork, after all -and for other things that he would rather forget…

She looked up at him, eyes wide and…strange again. Dammit, could she not hold it together for two _tamadema fangui _moments!

"Lost in blue- a desert of blue- I can see him, but he won't answer! Why won't he answer? Simon!" Jayne backed out the door, unnerved by her eyes, which were now shining with tears.

"I…uh…I'll get Mal…or, um…Zoë" he mumbled and fled.

On the bridge, things were easier. Wash was piloting and Jayne spared him a scowl. Before he got the chance to say anything Wash had sighed and said in a monotone which suggested that he had repeated himself many times in the last few minutes;

"Look, we hit a patch of turbulence- I didn't have time to warn anybody. It's gone. In the name of all things holy or otherwise, will you people _please_ quit it? I'm sorry, already!"

Jayne raised his eyebrows. Whoa, Wash wasn't usually this peevish.

"I'm looking for Mal, or Zoë or someone. Damnfool doctor got hit over the head with somethin' and he's out cold. Rivers gettin' herself all worked up over it."

"I'm here. 'Zoë-set down to Sickbay, would you, and check on Simon- he got hit by…what was it, Jayne?'"

Jayne looked uncomfortable. "Well, the ship got jumpy ("I know, I know- it was turbulence, okay?") "…um, there was the cattle- he got kinda trampled, and then…um…the pitchfork fell on him…"

Mal's eyebrows shot up and he looked at Jayne curiously. "Uh Zoë- you might wanna head down there kinda fast- cattle stampede and…uh…pitchfork wounds…"

Zoë headed from the engine room to sickbay speedily. A pitchfork landed on his head? And he'd been trampled. Yup- he was having a crappy morning. In the sickbay she found River still crouched over him protectively.

"Okay sweetie, I'm gonna need you to move so I can take a look at your brother, okay?" she told the girl gently, wishing Kaylee was there. She was much better with River. River moved away reluctantly.

"He's lost…desert. It's cold and blue…I can see him, but he won't look at me. Why won't he answer me?"

"It'll be okay, sweetie. He's unconscious. He'll be okay and he'll answer you when he wakes up…" Zoë answered absently, checking the cut on Simons temple. He'd been lucky, the pitchfork hadn't fallen from very high and it had only caught him a glancing blow. He'd wake up with a blinding headache probably, but he would wake up.

"He okay?" asked Jayne gruffly, from where he was loitering in the door. Zoë glanced up, surprised, and he shifted uncomfortably under her look.

"Yeah, well, I…uh…I kinda dropped the thing on his head…" he admitted, shuffling a bit. "Um…right before that, the cattle stampeded- when the ship went ornery. I think he mighta gotten clipped in the ribs. Maybe you should check that out while he's still out in lala-land."

"Uh…yeah, ok, that's probably a good notion."

She peeled up his shirt and checked his ribs- none of them were giving under the light pressure on this side…owchie- yeah, that one was gonna hurt like hell, for sure. It was already coming up in technicolour all along his right side. That wouldn't be fun for a while.

After checking Simon out and reassuring River, and Mal over the 'com that Simon would be okay, they left him to wake up in his own time. Wasn't really much else they could do, and in the meantime they had a landing to take care of and a herd of pissed-off cattle to deliver.

Mal, Zoë and Wash rigged up the temporary pen and Jayne and Kaylee herded the cattle into it. The cattle, once back out in their natural habitat, calmed down and started to graze contentedly.

"Hey, River- come on out for a few minutes, why don't'cha?" invited Kaylee kindly. She liked River, and was sorry for her, stuck in a place she didn't want to be and on the run from the Alliance. As were they all, to a greater or lesser extent, and having seen what they'd done to River, she was determined that Simon and River would be helped to avoid going back. She quite liked the Doc as well…even if he was so damned slow about noticing!

River left her brother and went to the door, turning and glancing back at him as she did.

"The desert is leaving- the blue is fading…he answered." she told Kaylee dreamily.

"That's good, honey. Zoë says he'll be fine. Come on out into the sunshine for a bit." She steered the younger girl towards the open cargo bay and froze as she heard arguing outside.

"If you got nothing to hide then you won't mind us searching your ship, then, no? And if you are hiding something…"

"Alliance! Out here?" She tugged on Rivers arm. The girl had frozen in place, her eyes wide and terrified. She was whispering something to herself.

"Hands of blue…hands of blue…two by two…"

"Come on, River- we have to hide you. You know where to go." She pulled her arm, coaxing her to move to where the loose panel was that would hide her from the soldiers of the Alliance and whatever nightmare that her brother had saved her from before. Rivers eyes remained fixed on the open door and the sunlight beyond but she yielded to Kaylee's insistence and let herself be put into the little cavity in the wall.

"Remember, stay quiet, River, okay? They won't find you, okay, we won't let them take you…" she put the panel back quickly and secured it. Now to the outside observer, the wall looked solid and undisturbed. She moved away. The soldiers' voices were coming nearer.

"We are searching your ship. Now get over there. Is that the whole crew of this heap of _gos se_?"

Kaylee tensed in fury at this insult to her baby but flew back to the infirmary for Simon. There was no way to get him to the hatch in time. An idea came to her. Now, if only the soldiers were held up long enough…

She dashed back out as soon as she was done and tried to look surprised at running into the Alliance patrol.

"Ah, you the last! Get out there with the rest of the spacescum. You're definitely the last? Any others, well, we're always happy to shoot trespassers…" This particular threat didn't go past Kaylee, but didn't particularly faze her either. She looked at the leader, a big man with a white scar slicing down the side of his face, and tried to look as innocent and truthful as possible.

"Well, we did have another crewmember, a passenger by the name of Harry Moore, but…"

"But what?"

"He was killed, just this morning in an accident." she decided not to mention the cattle just in case.

"Hmph- where's the body? Not jettisoned it yet, I hope?" he added mockingly. If the brat was lying, this should throw her.

"Down there, in the morgue…" she pointed, trying not to look worried as the captain of the group sauntered downwards. This was where it could all go seriously kablooy. Currently, the only thing working in her favour, regarding 'Harry' was the truly amazing bruise which had already sprung up, which made him almost unrecognisable, and the fact that she had set the temperature as low as it could go. It would slow Simon's responses and, to a cursory inspection, he would appear dead.

"There" she pointed- an unnecessary gesture as the biobed was in a prominent place, draped with a white sheet.

"Hmph." He flicked the sheet back and glanced at the man beneath it.

"Harry Moore, eh? I don't think you knew much about him. I swore…damn"

Kaylee wasn't listening much as, looking anxiously at Simon, she prayed that he wouldn't choose this moment to wake up. A new worry struck her as she hoped she hadn't slowed his responses past reviving. He was very pale and she couldn't see any signs of breathing… The fear mounted as the leader placed a hand on 'Harry's' forehead to check for temperature.

"He's cold. Guess you were telling the truth, girl. Unfortunately" He tossed the sheet back and stalked out, expecting her to follow. She smoothed the sheet back in relief- looking closely, there was a very slight movement of breathing under the sheet- and hoped she could get back soon enough.

"Outside! We'll check the rest of the ship. Move!" Turning away, he moved back to the rest of his team. She heard him mutter "_Tamade dongwu_!" and her fist clenched at this insult to herself and her friends but she merely moved off outside, blinking at the harsh sunlight.

"Move it!" shouted one of the men waiting on the ramp, lashing out with the butt of his rifle at her as she hurried down the ramp. It clipped her on the arm but she barely noticed it, consumed by worry. The human body couldn't withstand such low temperature for long when unconscious and thus unable to generate natural body heat by moving around. Left for too long, the 'corpse' could easily become a real one.

"Hey! That's unnecessary! Leave her alone- Kaylee, you okay?" asked Mal as she reached them.

"I'm fine."

"What about the others?" asked Zoë in an undertone. She nodded.  
"We have a new dead guy- Harry Moore- killed in an accident this morning. River's in the alcove." she whispered quickly, before their guard came back over. Mal's eyebrows went up at this piece of news.

"Good work."

"Nothing here, sir." called one of the cargo-bay searchers as the leader walked onto the ramp.

"Good work." He looked straight at Mal for a second with a twisted smile. "I've been hearing rumours about this particular type of Firefly. It's an old version, not the most up-to-date, but it has one very useful little secret- if you're pirate spacescum of course." He backed into the cargo bay.

"It seems, that if you go to this particular panel…" his searching hands found the seam between the false panel and the unmoveable ones on either side. "…well well, when will you stupid, _tamademe, dongwu dong me_- understand, for the uneducated out there, that we learn these things. So if you hit it just here…"

"Oh, shit…" murmured someone as the leader knocked the panel out and dragged River out from the space behind.

"Stand up, girl, STAND UP!" River, terrified, was shaking too hard to stand as she gazed at the hard face above her. She began whispering again. He shook her and dragged her to her feet before pushing her into two others of his team who grabbed her. She seemed to wake up from her horrified frozen state and began to struggle, her eyes wild in terror.

"Please, you're scaring her… you're hurting her!" cried Inara, making to stand up. Mal grabbed her wrist to stop her as two rifles swung towards her.

"Sit down! You don't know who this is! She's dangerously crazed, - her brother kidnapped her. She needs to go back for her own protection. I know you had her brother too. Your 'Harry Moore' was in actuality a dangerous fugitive, Simon Tam. Pity he's dead- I had a discussion I wanted to finish with him.' His tapping of the rifle and his tone of voice made it clear that this would not have been a conversation Simon would have walked away from.

Mal's mind was working furiously. They knew whom River was- he couldn't save her. His first priority had to be his crew.

"I don't know who she is- she must have slipped on at the last port. I don't know a Simon Tam."

The scarred leader looked at him, obviously not believing him, but looking at the size of Mal's crew as against the his own small group of four, he knew he couldn't take them into custody here. Flying two ships halfway across the galaxy with four people, while holding a further eight prisoners? Wouldn't work. Anyway, these were only small fry. River Tam was the main prize. Pity her brother wasn't there. Not that he'd have made it to the station anyway, but… he did so hate breaking promises.

"We'll take the body too- 'Harry Moore', you said. I believe you may have been misled as to his real identity."

"Harry Moore joined us months ago- he can't be this Simon Tam…And we need to take his body back to his own people for burial…"

"There's regulations involved with the transport of corpses. You don't have the proper facilities to keep it until you make port again. It's a health and safety hazard. We will see that he gets a proper burial or transport him to an Alliance base from where he can be sent to his home planet." He leaned forward slightly,; "I believe there's very strict penalties to the shipping of bodies and body parts around the place. I believe I might be doin' you people a favour. Least you could do is be…grateful" he finished, eyeing up Kaylee and Inara suggestively. He leaned back again and Kaylee suppressed a shudder. Inara, beside her, put a supportive arm around the shoulders of the younger girl and glared at the scarred man as he continued speaking. "If he is who you say he is, well, we hand the body over to his folks." Here the mouth curled into a sneer, causing the scar to twist. "If not, well, the body is evidence. Either way, it's coming with us"

Two of the Alliance soldier exited _Serenity_ with the white sheet wrapped around Simon. Kaylee sent Mal an anguished look but Mal looked away. There was absolutely nothing he could do without endangering the rest of his crew. And it wasn't as if Simon and River were really part of the crew, a treacherous part of his mind whispered. He squashed that thought. that was rubbish. Maybe once but Simon had proved himself as part of the crew several times over in his work as a ships-doctor and River was integrating also. Nonetheless, there was nothing he could do… for now.

"I believe we understand each other, Captain Reynolds. I don't think you can be held responsible for the work of a couple of fugitives. However, you may want to be more careful as to how you choose your crew… Go on now. And pray that we don't meet again." Mal bristled at the implied insult to his crew and his own sense in choosing them, but again, there was nothing he could do about it for the moment. He cursed his own impotence when it came to dealing with the Alliance as the crew filed onto their ship under the rifles of three Alliance underlings. The fourth had River gripped in case she made a break for it. She was standing staring ahead of her and shudders ran through her frame every few seconds. Kaylee caught her eye and tried to communicate without words that they would return for her. She didn't know if River even saw her.

"Lift off immediately or my ship will fire on you. Leave this sector."

"We still have business on this planet. The cattle" said Mal, nodding towards the animals that, entirely unaware of the tragedy unfolding around them, were peacefully chewing on the rich grass. He was grasping at any straw that might give them an opening for a rescue. Give them time… The leader chuckled without humour and pulled a purse out of his belt which he tossed to Mal. Mal caught it automatically but stared at the leader in confusion.

"The cattle were for us. Nice woman Mathyeta Remora of Dencelos, isn't she? She agreed to send them over to us. I think we got quite a bargain as it happens." He nodded to River. "Pity the other one's dead, but we got the main target back. Go. Now"

"Lift off, Wash." growled Mal, once they were onboard.

"…"

"I know! We've been played, Wash, Zoë. They played us like a _tamadema_ guitar and they beat us. There is nothing we can do for Simon or River for the moment. Now lift off, Wash. Or they will fire on us. That bastard wasn't bluffing." He turned and stormed off.

"Kaylee! What's the situation with Simon? That guy seemed convinced he was dead." He frowned for a second- "He wasn't dead, was he?"

Kaylee looked up, her eyes bright and watery.

"Then, no. I didn't have time to get him to the compartment so I dragged him down to the mortuary and turned the temperature down real low. He was still out deep and the cold…well, he passed for dead. Called him Harry Moore- said he died in an accident this morning…"

"You did good, Kaylee- it wasn't your fault."

"Didn't do good enough…" she muttered, turning back to the coil casing she was cleaning. She turned back to him.

"What are we gonna do, Mal? We…we're not gonna leave 'em there, are we? Mal! Tell me…"

"I don't know what we can do, Kaylee." he sighed and shook his head. Kaylee watched him, alarmed.

"When we get into orbit, everyone is to come to the messhall."

* * *

**Messhall, Serenity- same day **

In the messhall everyone sat around the table, except Jayne, who was lounging against the doorframe and Mal who was pacing.

"What are we going to do, then?" asked Inara, tapping the table with one manicured fingernail. "Surely we're not going to just…desert them to their fate, are we?" She looked around the table. "Are we?"

"What do you want us to do- Kaylee, Wash, Inara? What the hell can we do? The Alliance has them. This is a transport ship, not a rutting gunship, do you not understand that!" shouted Mal, suddenly. He couldn't stand the accusing looks. It hadn't been his fault, and he didn't know what to do. He looked across the table rubbing his forehead as he tried to think straight. He met the eyes of Book, who was sitting at the corner of the table patiently. He hadn't said anything yet. Mal suddenly felt a bit ashamed. He was not acting like a captain or a leader at the moment. He sighed inwardly. There had never really been a choice.

"Simon and River are part of this crew. They've come through for us before, especially Simon as medic. We're not going to desert them as fast as that, without even trying. I don't know how we're going to get them back, but we will."

He let the silence hang for a second as he met the eyes of everyone in turn, trying to gauge their feelings. Kaylee- hopeful, Zoë- faintly approving, Wash- thoughtful- already coming up with ideas and discarding them. Jayne- he knew what would be there, and he met his eyes almost challengingly as he waited for the certain grumble of disapproval from the big man. It never came. Jayne looked back, uneasily and shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I'm in." he muttered. Various disbelieving stares were directed at him. What the hell?

"Did he hit his head on something?" asked Inara in an aside to Book beside her. He merely smiled inscrutably and said nothing. Mal decided not to argue with this all-too-rare compliance from Jayne and looked at the next- Inara, who nodded, Book- well, hard to say, but he seemed to be approving.

"Okay then. Now we need ideas. We need to talk to Remora and find out just why she sent us into that rat- trap. Was she an Alliance plant or did she just backstab us for the money?"

"If the Alliance crew were trading with Remora, perhaps they'll go back there, especially if it was a trap all along. Can we follow the _Bismarck_?" Mal smiled slightly- trust Kaylee to notice the ship more then the crew.

"You tell me- can we follow that ship? What was it- what are its specs?"

Kaylee's eyes glazed over slightly as she remembered. "Triple hulled Denethor-class ship, Bismarck- C6-OP4923, armed and fast, twin pulse gauge Alliance-modified weapons and something I've never seen before- my guess is that they've modified something else- her thrusters looked mighty peculiar. She's packin' some punch though- we couldn't take much from her. Guess'n she's a bit unwieldy at a normal pace- we could run rings 'round her- but those mods on the thrusters? I don't know. I guess we could pick up her trail"

There was a pause as the less engineering-minded people caught up.

"Okay- so we wait them out and follow at a discreet distance. We can't afford to let the trail go cold. Wash- take us over behind the moon, keep the sun behind us. Let's not advertise our presence more then needs-be." Wash was gone as he finished speaking.

"That's it then for the moment people- back to work."

It was less then an hour later when Mal's com beeped- "Mal, she's movin'.'"

"Let her out of range then pick up the trail."

"Sure thing- she's passin' us now-" A stream of blistering oaths suddenly flew over the com and Mal winced as it hissed and sparked in his ear.

"Mal- I don't know…" The was a click as Wash switched his com to get to everyones' radios. "… shit- hold on to something people! Shockwave!"

"What th…"

"Agh!"

"Is there anyone ¬!"£$& flyin' this heap o' junk for !£$& sake!"

"Ow…"

The wave passed and there were the sounds of various people picking themselves up over the open com wave.

"What the _tamade_ just happened there? For !"£&$, Wash- can't ya keep a hold on her for two minutes…?"

"Don't start on me again, Jayne." answered Wash mildly. "Mal- I don't know how to explain it. One minute the _Bismarck_ was jus' cruisin' along and the next she was like a bat out of hell- I dunno, she took off much faster then anything I've ever seen- that shockwave was a result of whatever she did… And Mal? There's no trail."

Back in the mess hall Kaylee was quizzing Wash on every minute detail of the _Bismarck_ vanishing.

"Kaylee, I've told you everything- twice! I'm no engineer, I can't tell you how she did it. Except those modified thrusters you noticed- opened up and…" he waved his hands to demonstrate what words could not. "…vrooom- out of it. And however they did it…there's no damn trail to follow. We've lost 'em."

"That's impossible… the force needed to get them out so fast- it shoulda ripped that ship into pieces. And to leave no trail?" She shook her head slowly. "He's right…we've lost 'em…"

Of everyone in the room, for Kaylee to say that, dropped any optimism in the room by about 300. They had lost two members of their crew- one it seemed, to torture and to madness and the other, probably to death.

"Goddam fuckin' Alliance…" muttered Jayne. It pretty much summed up everyone's feelings.

"We're gonna land on the planet again- try talk to some of the folks- maybe they can help us."

"Can't Mal- sandstorm's blown up- we can't land 'til it blows over- scour the platin' right off've _Serenity_- and the skins off us."

"Damn… Okay- keep tabs on it. Notify me as soon as it's blown over." He stalked out. Kaylee followed and turned off to get to the engineroom, Wash to the cockpit, Inara back to her shuttle and the others to their tasks.

Kaylee was scowling at a piece of recalcitrant engine, holding one of it's cogs and thinking about the _Bismarck_, aware that she was concentrating on it to keep her mind off another subject. Damn…it wasn't possible- how the hell had they done it! she thought furiously, skirting around the edge of the dangerous chasm of why they were chasing after that damned ship. Any other time she would've been thrilled with the new discovery but today... With a frustrated yell, she flung the piece of metal across the room

"Kaylee?" Oh hell who was that? She stood up, embarrassed at being caught out in this moment of childishness.

"Uh…hi Inara. Um…sorry…"

"Never mind about it. Tell me- is that a special part of engine management?"

"No- works pretty good as anger management though." Inara smiled a bit as she handed the abused cog back to Kaylee who sighed as she took it and turned to put it back into the engine.

"I was wondering how you were…holding up?" Kaylees' hands stopped moving for a second.

"If it was anyone else who'd said that, I'd probably deny…" she shook her head again and stopped work before turning around to face her friend.

"I don't know…you know- the last thing I said to River was that she wouldn't be found, that we wouldn't let them take her away. I risked Simons life hiding him, and…and it failed anyway!" Her voice was rising as she spoke and as she finished the sentence, her voice choked up with tears and she turned back to the engine.

"Mal told me what you did- it was very quick thinking…you did good Kaylee, and it wasn't your fault that River was found. It wasn't your fault that they were captured. And we're doing our best to get them back- we will get them back."

"I don't know… how can we?" Despair, unusual for Kaylee, was colouring her voice now.

"I don't know, Kay- but trust Mal- and trust us, we will find them." She looked away for a second.

"How we'll get them back from the Alliance I don't know."

* * *

**Simon **

Simon woke up to darkness. Suffocating closeness- and heaviness. He was wrapped in a…? Sheet, maybe. Why was it so close here? And quiet? And warm… _Serenity_ was never all these things at the same time. Quiet especially. She was never quiet. It had bothered him at first but he'd gotten used to it. He missed it. What was this? His hand disengaged itself from the sheet and touched something gritty that moved between confused fingers. It was all around him. He couldn't breathe! It was in his nose and mouth. He started to panic but got himself under control as he started to hyperventilate. Oh God, no…he was underground. He was buried alive!

He didn't know how come he was still alive. Some random lucky airpocket had stopped him merely breathing in sand without waking and choking to death. That airpocket was nearly gone- the reason for his light-headedness, and his subsequent hyperventilating and thrashing about had just about used it up. He had to get out of here now.

Now with one hand free he clawed at the sand about his head but more kept falling on him. Hands scraped something- a stick? No…a.plank? That was why he could move at all, he realised with clinical detachment. A plank had fallen- must be propped up against something- and given him a bit of thrashing room- the sand had formed almost a tiny alcove about his head and shoulders, with the plank the mainstay of the 'roof'. With great difficulty, he turned over on his front, the motion leaving him breathless- he was breathing carbon monoxide now. He pushed himself up like he was doing a press up- with a shit-load of extra weight. His arms quivered a bit but he managed. This pressed the sand up a bit and gave a tiny bit more room to manoeuvre. Now he could feel the end of the plank-and whatever it was leaning on. This was his last chance. If this failed the sand would collapse back again and suffocate him before he got another chance. He gripped the plank in both hands and used all his remaining strength to shove upwards and….it broke the surface. He twisted it and was rewarded with a breath of air. It was night outside- he could see stars. Or was there something about being able to see night even in the day from down a hole? he thought muzzily. He knew he was thinking complete and utter crap but it was the only way of not thinking about how close he'd come to death that time. He'd have time to think, and panic, later. For now 'Stay awake, Simon!' he ordered himself. He pulled his left arm from its still half-trapped position in the sand, tossing sand onto his face as he did so. He controlled the rising panic again and blew the sand off his face as best he could. Lifting himself the small bit he had room for, he started to dig upwards.

* * *

**Serenity/ Planetside **-1 day (After Capture)

"The sandstorm's cleared Mal, or nearly. I don't know if it'll be back soon, though. I've read a bit about this place- the storms are unpredictable this time of year. The closest I can come to is that if we wait till morning we'll probably have about a two hour timeframe within which to get in and out."

"Okay. What time?"

"0730 should do it. That's approximate though"

"Okay. Zoë, Jayne, Book, Kaylee- you're coming planetside. Zoë and me with Book and Jayne with Kaylee. Split up and ask questions. See if this lot come regular, where they go…Mods- though I don't expect they'll know much 'bout them. Farming communities. See if they saw Simon or River. You know the drill."

"Will I come too, Mal? Three teams are better then two."

"Okay Inara. You're with me then- Rest of you, as were."

They landed pretty much on schedule. Mal was impressed with Wash's weather-watching. These storms were notoriously hard to predict for an outsider. You needed to be Tarkanen born and bred with the 'weather-witchin' usually to predict these things. They landed about a klick from yesterdays spot- almost a mile from nearest habitation, but they wanted to check the area first…and also not to leave _Serenity_ where she might be in danger.

"Can anyone tell where the hell we are?" asked Jayne in frustration after about ten minutes fast walk. The landscape had changed since they'd last been there.

"Look…" The others followed Inara's finger where she pointed.

"Good gr… _tamade_!" cursed Mal, felling more and more like a one-word pony lately. He had a good reason to swear though and most of the others followed suit as they took in the scene. The Alliance soldiers had left the cattle where they were. The storm had literally flayed the beasts. The terrified animals had broken down the corral, so perhaps some of them had escaped. Most of them had been left to rot here though.

"How could they do that…" whispered Kaylee, looking with horrified eyes at the remains.

"Guess Wash was right about these storms…come on, or we'll be the next caught in one." broke in Mal, turning from the carnage. "Let's get to town and off this Godforsaken rock…"

The others followed him wordlessly.

* * *

**Tarkinett Town, Tarkenen. **1 day AC

"Naoww…ain't sin' any'on aroun' 'ere fo…oh must be tree dace at leas'."

"We's down lak furrinors…an days down lak uz. Yeer skins too tin for our storms"

"You moro dem Alliance fowk? I tawt ye lef' yes'day. Yee got yeer pris'narr. Yee'd wanna git owt afow de next stowrm ar yee won't be leevin' at aw."

"Wait! Please, we're not Alliance. They took some friends of ours. Please! What do you know?" Kaylee begged the weather-beaten man with the accent that Jayne was having trouble even understanding.

He cracked the door open slightly and peered out with suspicious, surprisingly blue, eyes.

"Yiz look lak' Alliance…" On Kaylees repeated assurances that they were not, he cracked the door open wider.

"Yee bedder cim in den fow a minute." He scowled up at Jayne as they ducked under the low lintel. "Mand, iss on'y fow a minute…"

"Ah canny 'elp ye much. Dem damn " here he spat out of the window with surprisingly good aim. "…Dem damn Alliance people- dey tell us, not to be gown out to d wes' o' de town farr two dace, cuz dey got a capture awl planned owt. I wantada gow oop dar jus' ta see could Ah spoil it farr 'em but dey was too quick for me, damn de runty blackhearted pirates." Here he spat out the window again.

"You saw them? Heard them talk?"

"Naow- tellin' ya girl, missed 'em. Saow 'em taking off in dere nicy shiny ship- de _Buzzark_ or some sush… Now lass night summon comes knockin' on me dower.."

"Door…" whispered Kaylee to Jayne, noticing his confused look.

"…me dower, dass what Ah said, an' talkin' lak you is- wit' yeer funny Alliance accen'…" Here his eyes narrowed. "Yeer damned blackhearted Alliance spies, aren't ye? Well, git de heel outto me 'ouse afore I blast a rowttin hole through ye bowt!" He turned and snatched up a rifle that had been lying across an armchair and pointed it at Jayne menacingly.

"Whoa Gramps! We're not ruttin' Alliance. We're stayin' outta dere…their, way." Jayne scowled as he corrected himself. That damn accent had near-hypnotised him.

"Owt!"

"Oookay… thanks for your help, sir." said Kaylee backing Jayne behind her out the door, before he did something they all might regret. Well, the old guy probably wouldn't regret it but they would. Briefly anyway.

"They guy last night. Where did he go?" asked Kaylee desperately. Maybe Simon had somehow escaped, though she couldn't see him willingly leaving his sister behind.

"Ah tink dat bleed'n heart furrinor down dee street let 'im in. Damnfool wumman! Yow gow tawk tow 'er. Git owt o' 'ere"

"He wants us to leave." she whispered to Jayne, who was still having trouble with the accent.

"I got that much!" he hissed back.

"Da 'ouse wit de damnfool green dower!"

"Thank-you sir!" she called back, surprised that he had been even that helpful.

"Oookay- green door…"

"Nah nah- dower, gren dower" mimicked Jayne nastily. She grinned a bit. It was a good impersonation of the crusty paranoid man.

"There… I wonder how our welcome will be here?"

"Better then there I hope…"

"Excuse me Ma'am" started Kaylee politely to the woman who answered the door.

"Well, bless me, it's mowr o' yee loss' sowls in de storm! How menny o' yee arr dere? Yee arr part o' dat group, yees? Wit dat nice lad dat wandered inna town lass night, eh?"

"Simon was here? He got here? The Alliance soldiers took him and his sister… we're trying to find them." Kaylee babbled in relief.

"Coom in girl and yerself too, glowerin' down ah me lak dat. Yow tawkin to owl 'Enrey oop de stret? Hah, now wund'r yeer as jumpy as two cats on a 'ot tin roof. 'Ee pull de gun on yee? Ah, ees still back in the war- fight'n in Serenity Valley aff de time…" she chuntered on as she waved them inside.

"Ahm still seen as de furrinor ere, for all ahm barn an bred 'ere. De parents from offworld. Dere verra clannish 'ere. No-one wud let de pore lad en, for all dere wass a sandstarm blow'n in. Some o' 'em ere, wouldn't give ya a spare blanket arr shirt iffa ye warr dyin o' dee cowld. So ah let 'im in. Young lad, ee? Dark 'air, radder a swate lad, Ah thought, for all ee wass bruised lak eed bin in de annuwal bar brawl, shocky and wit is hands an' nails brokk'n an blayd'n lak 'eed dug through a stow'n wall."

"Simon, yes, he was injured? He was in an accident yesterday- the bruises, but his hands? I don't know…"

"What happened to him Ma'am? And was his sister not with him? She's a bit… You'd have noticed her." Jayne asked. Kaylee looked at him a bit surprised. Usually, he would have given his exact opinion of Rivers mental state as bluntly as possible.

"Naow…naow sistar wit 'im. But 'ee wass tawk'n funny- abowt 'is sistar, yes, an summat abowt a river, findin' a river?"

"Yes, River, that's his sisters name."

"Ow, weel, dat maks sense."

"Well, is he still here? Where did he go?"

"Ah'm sorry lass. 'Ee didna mention enny crew- jus' dat 'ee 'ad to go affer the Alliance- they'd stowlen his sistar, an' would 'urt de child. An' da he had to gow find 'er. Sow Ah gev'im ma shuttle. She still works- a beauty of 'er day. Ma parents cem 'ere in it an' weel, Ah'l niver bay layv'n dis place, sow Ah geyv it to 'im. Ee left dis mornin."

Kaylee was hurt. Did he think they'd abandon him and his sister? Then she remembered how much discussion there had been last night. And that he'd probably woken up on his own with no _Serenity_ in sight with his sister stolen again. No, she couldn't blame him intellectually. But…did he think she'd leave him behind?

"Yow Kaylee, ba enny chance?"

Kaylee looked up. "Yes Ma'am, I am."

"Ah, thought sow. 'Ee mentioned you, I think, but 'ee was a bit confused and yee've awl got 'em funny accents an' Ah dinna cash mowst of it. 'Ee seemed to tink dis Kaylee special dow. 'Ee sed bowt nowt wanten tow 'urt yow, arr put yow in danger. Ah reckon dass wah 'ee lef' sow suddenlak."

Jayne mentally translated this and snorted.

"He's been putting us all in danger since he arrived- him and River both."

"Weel, Ah rekon 'ee wown't bee putten' yee in danger now mowr. Dass a dangerous rowt 'ees takin'- rescuing 'is sistar from dee Alliance."

"He's done it once before alone." said Kaylee, looking up at the woman.

"Weel dan, Ahm sure 'eel bee fahn, honey. 'Ee said they'd tak 'er to dee same place as lass tahm. 'Ee went Norr'- west takn off an sed bowt steeren' wat wass it now. 'Ee wass mutterin' it in is sleep an' Ah wrote it down…" She rummaged for a second behind a large object- Kaylee couldn't tell if it was merely ornamental or if it served some sort of useful purpose.

"Ah, 'ere it iss" She gave Kaylee a scrap of paper with a planetary address scrawled on it.

"Thank-you Ma'am" she whispered, looking back up at the kindly woman.

"Naow, noaw…ma names Fidelma."

"Thank-you Fidelma, for this and for what you did for him. I don't know how we can repay you…" Fidelma brushed it off.

"Jus' maybe…if yee coom bak 'ere an' tell me what 'appened. Wit dat boy an' 'is sistar. 'Ee wass a nice boy- Ah'd hate to see 'im get killed. Either way, coom bak farr a visit soomday, yes? Yeer allus' welcome 'ere."

Kaylee nodded, not willing to trust her voice. Unexpectedly, Fidelma caught her up in a hug.

"Now yee go fand dat boy, yes? Go on, and good luck to yee." Kaylee turned to go out and Jayne to follow her but found himself hauled back by a surprisingly strong grip on his arm.

"Now, yee wash owt farr 'em, yes? It's owkay to bay nace soomtames- yow look affer dem."

"Yes Ma'am, I guess I will." he answered confused as it hit him, that he didn't really want to abandon his two crewmates. That didn't mean he had to like them, or anything, but…

"Good boy. Go on now"

They had arranged to meet up at a point nearly at the spot where the cattle slaughter had taken place. Jayne gave the report with Kaylee, slightly distracted, filling in details here and there, and handing over the paper with the planetary address on it. Mal looked at it and whistled.

"I've heard of this place. I don't think there's any way in or out unless you're actually a worker there. It's top-level stuff. During the war, it was from here the commanders were making the plans. We tried to infiltrate it several times but never succeeded. I heard it was some top-secret Alliance scientist base. This is not going to be easy"

"Fidelma said that he'd done it before- same place as last time… There's a way."

"Well, figure out how he did it and if we can get away with it too."

"Did she say how Simon was? I mean, it's a bit odd that he wouldn't try to contact Serenity. And how did he get away?"

"I don't know. We haven't been able to figure that one at all. She said he seemed to be in shock or something. And…" she paused, frowning. "Jayne, his hands weren't injured this morning were they? All that about his hands being injured?"

Jayne frowned, trying to remember. "Don' think so. Ask Zoë- she took a look at him."

"No- his hands were fine." said Zoë, confused.

"We'll discuss it on the ship- we need to get back and off've this rock before the next sandstorm hits."

They were passing the cattle again. Kaylee was staring away from the cattle- the sand beneath her feet, the sky above- anything but the mutilated remains got her attention. She was thinking hard and so the flash of white didn't get her attention for a couple of seconds. She stared at it until it registered in her mind what it was. With a funny noise in the back of her throat she ran over to where a corner of white material was peeking out from a heap of disturbed sand.

"Kaylee? Kaylee, what…" came from behind her as, confused, the group watched her drop onto her knees and start frantically digging.

"It's the sheet! The 'Harry Moore' sheet! He was wrapped in it when they thought he was dead. They said they would bury him!" she pulled the sheet out completely as the others joined her. There were speckles of blood on it, where Simon's fingernails had ripped in his frantic haste to dig out. She sat and held the damning evidence as the rest of the group took in what she'd said.

"They buried him alive?" asked someone, Mal, she thought, in a slow voice.

"Fuckin', ruttin', _fangui, pihua_…" the rest of Jaynes cursing faded away. He himself wasn't too happy with small spaces and the idea of being buried alive scared him almost as the Reavers.

"That explains a lot…" started Inara, looking green.

"No rutting wonder he was in shock, that he escaped at all, that he didn't wait for us..."

"Back to the ship. Now. We've waited too long." Mal again. Nobody spoke as they hurried back to the ship, Kaylee still holding the sheet.

"Wash, get us out of here. Once we're in orbit, set a course for Dencelos" He killed the com and looked around.

"We'll fill Wash in then decide where to go from there."

* * *

**Simon- **1 day AC

Simon was flying in much the same direction only ahead by a good way. The little craft was no _Serenity_, but a good ship. _Freedom_ was the name marked on her bow. Simon's lips quirked a bit when he thought about that. Ironic really, this little ship was the only hope of freedom for his sister now. And they had been a bit short of that ever since his first (failed) attempt to save his sister. And in Rivers case, even before that.

River- oh God, he'd failed his sister in every way possible. The Alliance had her now- carrying her back to that place of evil and torture. A life- sentence for no other crime then intelligence. The little he'd managed to find out about what they'd done to his sister had been enough to have him waking up from nightmares on many a night aboard Serenity. The full extent of what they'd done had been enough to almost sever his sister's grip on sanity. She'd been returning though. She'd struggled back so far from that black chasm of madness. Now? If they brought her back, she would die. In a moment of lucidity about the Alliance she had told him that if they captured her, she would prefer to die then go back. And now his greatest asset was a great curse too. The Alliance believed him dead. That scarred bastard Makgehenna had probably made her watch them bury him alive under there. He was always a sadistic nut- probably more insane under that mask of stone then his sister. And taking that chunk of his face -the last time he had saved River- had only made him more vicious towards the siblings. But not being able to believe that her brother would come and save her again might well be enough to make her lose all hope. As Makgehenna had undoubtedly been aiming for.

And _Serenity_. He didn't know the exact detail of what had happened there. He woke up in the hole, as they started filling it in. That was when he saw the scarred son of a _shi da koudai_. And he'd seen him too. His hand touched his forehead and he winced. He'd hit him with the butt of his gun and that was the last he remembered. But he knew who was responsible all right. He would save his sister, and this time, he might well finish what he had accidentally started the last trip around with Makgehenna.

For now he had one or two places to go, before heading to that monstrosity of a place. There was no way he was going to catch up with Makgehenna's ship before it reached Porthidion. With such important cargo as River Tam they wouldn't take side trips. He would have to try break her out again. And he couldn't do that the same way as last time. No, he needed the help of a few…acquaintances. He too had contacts among the Independents and had even helped out with some of their work before he'd had to go on the run. It was through this work that he'd found out what was going on at the 'special school' where his sister was being kept.

Porthidion Science Station, the 'Area 51' of space. Only it wasn't aliens they studied there, it was the human brain in all its complexities and possibilities. For this they'd needed the brightest and the best. Simon himself had also been offered a place, but with River both more interested and also by far the brighter, they were content with just getting her -she went and he followed his dream of being a doctor.

He wished she hadn't been forced through this. Hell, he wished he hadn't been forced through this either, but there you go. She was his sister, and since his parents had pretty much disowned him, she was all he had left.

He'd get her back. Somehow.

* * *

**Serenity- 1 week AC **

"Mal, we'll reach Dencelos in about two hours."

"Okay, make port somewhere not too obvious. Let's not advertise our presence until we're ready."

"Then what?"

Mal grinned into the darkness of his quarters before answering back into his radio "Then we'll advertise our presence."

* * *

**Dencelos- same day **

They re-entered the main hall of the 'capital city' of the planet owned and run by Mathyeta Remora almost unnoticed. Remora herself wasn't there, rather to Mal's disappointment but her main underling was. Zoë spotted him first, weaselling his way into another lucrative deal with some poor suckers who would probably get squeezed for every piece of currency they'd ever owned and then some. She got Mal's attention, then silently indicated the ratty little man where he was standing. Kagethe Remora was his name- a nephew and prospective heir of The Remora herself. If he survived the apprenticeship of course. Mal had a sneaking suspicion that Kagethe hadn't been her first choice.

The three of them, Mal, Zoë and Jayne came up behind the man without making him aware that he was surrounded, before closing in on him suddenly and grabbing him. A frightened squeak was the most he got out.

"Now here's the deal." Mal told him in an almost friendly fashion. "You come with us quietly and we'll have a little chat."

"Erm…Is there an 'or'?" he asked, gaping like a stranded fish. Mal sighed and looked at Zoë.

"See, I told you all this comic- book stuff doesn't work." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"There's a time and a place, Mal." She turned to Kagethe,

"There really is no 'or'. In fact, tell us where Mathyeta Remora is and we'll let you get back to your discussion." She nodded to his prospective customer. "Sorry about this. They sold us out to the Alliance."

"No problem. Thanks for letting me know." The man stood up, giving Kagethe a filthy look and left.

"What the…you are looking for trouble. The Remora controls this planet. Did you think she wouldn't have security in this area?"

"True." said Mal who had spotted some likely trouble heading their way. "But we are here strictly in business. We'll leave straight after. Now where is she?"

"I'm right here, Captain. And, I must say, rather surprised at seeing you back here so soon."

"So soon? At all, maybe. You sold us out to the Alliance!"

"If I had sold you out to the Alliance you wouldn't be standing here right now, now would you? Now, security is coming this way and it would be easy to have you thrown out- or perhaps safer to have you killed. You seemed intent on driving away custom." Before she had finished, all three of _Serenity's_ crew were standing back to back with weapons ready. Jayne was covering security, Mal had his on Kagethe, whom he had grabbed, and Zoë had Mathyeta Remora herself within her sights. The Remora seemed quite unperturbed.

"Escort them into the back." Outnumbered, the crew were escorted into a small back room and disarmed.

"That was a rather stupid thing to do, Captain Reynolds."

"Why did you double-cross us? It surely can't be good for business?" added Zoë sarcastically.

Remora frowned. "Aye, that isn't something I would normally do. And insofar as it bothers me, I apologise for the…inconvenience. The mission was genuine, I assure you- but the Alliance base on Gethshbeda caught wind of it and demanded that I tell them where exactly you were arriving. They seemed to think that you had something of value to them."

"The great Remora- a ruttin' Alliance puppet!" snarled Jayne. The Remora looked grim.

"At the moment, the Alliance has somewhat of a hold over me- -although it won't last long. But, before I kill you, or rather, have you killed- there is one thing I would like to know: whom were you hiding that the Alliance wanted? Was it Guilliame De Rossitor? If so, I have absolutely no qualms about betraying you."

"Who? It was a ruttin' doctor an' his mad sister!" growled Jayne in disbelief. At this, Mal shook his head- why the hell did Jayne always have to shoot his mouth off? The Remora looked mildly puzzled.

"Why would the Alliance be interested in a doctor and a crazy?"

"River Tam was taken by the Alliance as a child and her brain experimented on. We're not entirely sure what they did to her only that it unhinged her mind. Simon, her brother rescued her and they've been on the run ever since. They joined our crew and were doin' okay until you sold 'em out!"

The Remora went pale. "Shades of Sedae and my _rendasi"_" she whispered. She looked back at them. "I am sorry for your loss" she said formally. "Know that I did not set out to betray your friends. Sit. You may want to listen to me." she added, glancing at the stubbornly unmoving crew. "It will prolong your lives."

"My two sons and my daughter were, like I think River Tam must have been, prodigies. Exceptionally intelligent, both academically and otherwise. My daughter is…was the older by thirteen years and, on reaching age, was offered a place at the Alliance school for exceptional children. She didn't accept though." She laughed slightly, and Mal was struck by her resemblance to Simon, when he'd told a similar story to the crew that first time. "My Sedae- never happy unless playing with her engines and machines…" Jayne shifted impatiently. He was never particularly interested in the sentimental how and why of a job, only that there was a job. The Remora took the hint and continued.

"My two sons were twins and the school offered places for them very early on. If Sedae was interesting to them, my _rendasi_ were exceptional. Twins- sorry." noting a confused look at the unfamiliar term. "Unlike Sedae, the twins wanted to go, begged to in fact…and I'm more then a bit suspicious of that now as well. Sedae started receiving letters from them that suggested to her that they were not happy- but I didn't see it. My boys were getting a good education and that was what mattered. She became obsessed with it and ran away a couple of times to look for them- always unsuccessfully. Three months ago, she left Dencelos again- this time with a lead. I've not heard from her since and have reason to believe that she is dead."

Mal cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about your daughter, but what does this have to do with Guilliame de Rossitor, and if it comes to that Simon and River?" At her annoyed glance he continued. "Yes, we see the similarities but…"

"Guilliame de Rossitor was the one who convinced me to let Mathee and Fernie go- and that my daughter was jealous and even delusional. He was an old family friend- I trusted him. Now I find he had strong links to Porthidion Centre- where I believe at least two of my children are being held. Also, I think he might be responsible, directly, as well as indirectly, for my daughter's death. If I could kill him myself I would. He upset the Alliance somehow and went on the run. I kept tabs on him and, for my own reasons, believed he was hiding out aboard the _Serenity_ The Alliance, it seems, had the same info- and approached me, after the deal went through with you." She leaned back and looked seriously at them.

"I risked everything in doing what I did- my trading empire- who'll trade with a traitor if this gets out? My contacts who would skitter if they knew I'd traded with the Alliance. My own life as well. But I was desperate. My children are in danger. One, I fear, is already dead. This was my only chance to get Guilliame de Rossitor, and find out what I could. Now you tell me it wasn't de Rossitor at all, but two people who went through the same as my children and escaped?"

"Yes, that is exactly what we're telling you. We know one of our friends escaped- Simon Tam was buried alive back on a little outwater planet but survived and went after his sister. Seems there's a little history between himself and the lead guy- Makgehenna?"

She thumped the table and laughed. "Aye, Makgehenna! I knew I heard the name before. So that's who Simon Tam is!" The crew looked at him, confused. She grinned back. "Didn't know that your little friend had quite the criminal record- not to mention some pissed-off people on his trail."

"Well, we did actually… the whole 'on the run' bit suggested it" muttered Mal dourly, wishing, not for the first time, that he'd just shot Simon when he first set foot onboard and had never had to deal with all this.

"Aye, but a personal vendetta with Makgehenna. It was your friend who gave him that scar from forehead to chin. In the 'great escape'. I've been fishing up as much info as is there about Porthidion. Simon Tam was the only person who ever successfully got in and out of that place. And others have tried it. It's all kept very quiet. He got in okay but Makgehenna rumbled it and it turned into a fight on the way out."

Jayne snorted in disbelief. The Doc in a fight? The guy could barely handle himself in a brawl. She glanced at him sideways. "Those two fought out of there. Though if you say River Tam went a little screwy, I'm not surprised. They killed a few people that night with nothing more then old- fashioned swords. The strain of her capture along with this must have taken its toll. But as a team, those two were unstoppable. Simon had a run-in with a young captain called Makgehenna. Now there is a champion with almost any type of weapon. That turned nasty, but they survived with no more then scars on both sides. Makgehenna's- fairly noticeable. He had a concussion, the med reports said. Your friend should've killed him when he had the chance. That man is crazy- and he won't stop until those two are dead.'

"I'll make another deal with you-no tricks. Go after your friend and rescue his sister- but save my children also. I don't know what they are doing to them but I can't reach them now. Save my children and you'll survive. And still be able to get jobs in this sector."

"We don't react well to threats- especially when given by a double- crosser. You don't really think that we came in here without a backup plan, do you."

"No, I don't. But I would be interested to know if it involves your ship not being impounded, and the rest of your crew not being under arrest." Mal closed his eyes for a beat inwardly shouting at himself. He was an idiot! He glanced at Zoë, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Alright. But we do expect to get paid for this job- especially seeing how it is your fault we are here in the first place."

"I'm a fair woman. Would this seem appropriate to you?" She named a sum that seemed almost suspiciously reasonable.

"It would. Half now, and half later."

"A quarter now and the rest later." she corrected him. Mal smiled slightly. Haggling was something he was good at. A few minutes later, they'd reached an agreement. Mal took the money and they were escorted out of the compound and the ship released. Back in the air Zoë turned to Mal and asked;

"Mal, did that seem too easy? I mean, what happened to the killing us thing?" He frowned.

"I know, but our choices were a bit limited. I want to find out what became of our rescue."

* * *

**Serenity **

"They gassed us, Mal. It was fast. We woke up under arrest and with nice shiny clampers on _Serenity_.

"That confirms it. She's playin' one hell of a game here. She's had this planned all along."

"But why? Is this another trap directed at us? Or is it just that she wanted to be sure for help for her children? How much of this was planned out and how much was opportunism?" Zoë had outlined the questions on everyone's mind. Mal opened his mouth to speak but Inara beat him to it. He paused to hear her opinion. The more the better.

"I don't think it's an Alliance trap. Makgehenna and the Alliance soldiers didn't capture or kill us- obviously. In any case we're small fry. They only wanted River really. Even the doc- that was just Makgehenna personally wanting revenge." Jayne was next- sounding unusually serious as opposed to merely dour.

"Okay- point taken. But it could be her own personal trap. After all, she sold us out to the Alliance and that's gonna be bad for business. Get us killed off by the Alliance and…" he spread his hands in a gesture to express that it would sort her problems out. It was quite an expressive gesture really.

"She could just be worried about her children." put in Kaylee who had been listening but staying quiet. "From what you say, she'd pretty much used up her own resources. She's got info but not the connections or resources she needs."

"Possibility too. So what- do we continue to the base and try…what? Scam our way in? This place is well guarded. We could try find Simon, except I wouldn't say he'll go straight there unless he knows something we don't."

"I think we know the answer to that one…" muttered Jayne, sounding more like himself then he had since it had all begun.

"I'm saying that it is just possible that we can't do this. That we'll have to give up on them. I don't like that any more then the rest of you but I won't endanger the rest of this crew on the impossible. We will check this place out but if it is impossible then…"

"Simon got River out of there once before on his own. It can be done."

"Simon probably had hidden resources. We don't know how he did it. And he had the advantage at the time of not being part of a mercenary crew of a hunted ship."

"Not this time…"

"No. Not this time. But we have a paid job in this place as well. Mathyeta Remora has hired us… ("…At gunpoint…" came from Jaynes corner but was ignored.) "…to try get two kids out of there as well.'

'She's payin' us well. Mathee and Fernie Remora- twelve years old. Twins- here's the pics." He handed out three snaps of two small boys. One was of the two boys together, grinning mischievously into the cam. The other two were of the boys separately, neither posed.

"Cute kids."

"They're goin' through whatever made River Tam flip. If we can get them out of there, I'm thinking we should try."

"I'm really beginning to think he hit his head on something."

* * *

**Simon**- 1 week AC

Simon reached a small planet about two days from Porthidion Station. He needed to speak with some old friends here. Only problem was, the last time he'd been here they were rather _personae non gratae_ with the Alliance- loyal government. Hence the going underground. He hoped he could still contact the leaders of the sadly ineffective Mathasta Independent Movement- made up for the most part by War veterans and 'intellectuals' (upper/middle class educated)- who, last time around were having trouble gelling. The Veterans looked on the mainly upper-class 'intellectuals' as useless snobbish prigs who'd not been doing anything useful in the war, The scholars saw the Vets as poorly led, ineffective and liable to blow their cover at any moment. Of course, there'd been middle-roaders as well- well-educated army who'd been fighting on the Independent side. However as on most planets, well educated well off officer material. And most of the officers had been executed in the Alliance purges after the war. Hence also the poorly- led part of the equation. The upper- classes had been unwilling to accept a lower class leader and the military people were damned if they were going to be led by some nancy-boy ponce who'd never picked up a weapon unless for a two- man dual.

At the end of his last visit, he'd been dealing with Marian Tomadwn- one of the few of both sides- a middle- class soldier, reasonably well- educated and with that powerful charm of charisma. She'd been working on gaining the full trust of the people. He hoped she'd managed not to get herself killed in the meantime. She'd been a good friend to him.

Now to find them. For all their ineffectiveness on winning even a small planet like Mathasta from the (admittedly close) Alliance, they'd all been agreed on one thing- secrecy was paramount. They hadn't been based in the capital- too dangerous, but rather in the Second City; Demera. They'd been working on setting up the political party that they hoped would one day win them constitutional freedom from the worst of the Alliance excesses. They had to be careful, however. Go too far, too fast and they would be inviting Alliance retribution before they'd even started. And Alliance retribution usually meant a body count.

He entered orbit and frowned at the fuel gauge. Damn- he'd need fuel soon. He didn't think he even had enough to get too another planet. Well, he had a bit of money- not much; after filling up the engine he'd be in trouble, but for the moment he had enough.

"Lessin Ferditti? Is that you?" Simon peered through the gloom at the large man behind the bar. He spoke quietly, not wanting to attract attention more then absolutely necessary. However obviously these people had very good hearing, as the rather seedy bar suddenly went quiet.

"Don't know who your talkin' about" grunted the man without looking up.

"Sorry, wrong person." muttered Simon, embarrassed. Shit- he didn't know what had gone down on the planet since the last time he'd been here. If it was Lessin then he might just have endangered the guy. Hell, if it wasn't the guy he might sill be in danger from that thoughtless exclamation. Lessin had been a recruiter- one of the more dangerous jobs in public view. Also the sector of the resistance that had the most casualties. He'd been the one to introduce Simon to Marian. He blushed fierily in the darkness, cursing his own stupidity.

"A beer, then, barman." he sighed. If it was Lessin, then this'd give him the chance to pass on a message. He gave over the money, hoping that it was him- his funds weren't really big enough for this. The barman slammed down the grimy drink onto the table with a scowl and stomped off. Damn. Maybe he'd been wrong all along.

"Change." the guy who looked like Lessin grunted back, tossing the two small coins at Simon. Simon, who knew he'd given Lessin the correct amount, was relieved that the gamble had paid off. He didn't look at the coin, much he wanted to. He merely slipped it into his pocket without looking at it and sipped his drink, trying to conceal his wince of disgust. Oy, yup, he'd pissed Lessin off. This was the real rats' piss, such as Lessin saved for unwary Alliance soldiers and other idiot people who'd annoyed him. He drank half of it for the shows sake. There was definitely no way he could finish it- it was thick and acidic nearer the end and totally undrinkable. Throwing up after one drink would definitely do nothing for his street- cred in this bar. The covert glances that he could feel still directed at him had a certain amount of wary admiration in them now. Or possibly just disgust. As soon as he felt he could without being noticed he mooched into the smoking- room adjoining; the remnant of the old smoking- laws before the Alliance take-over. Ferdetti had vehemently opposed it under the old Government, but once the Alliance had taken over, it became a point of honour to use it. Passive resistance.

The smoke in the enclosed room made the air blue- grey and impossible to see the other side, or what other people were in there. Perfect. He sat in a corner, surrounded by wreathes of smoke and carefully slipped the pseudo coins out of his pocket. Lessin had recognised him. One had scratched on it 'closing- 0300' and the other was stamped with the symbol of the Resistance- an Alliance symbol that under the right light had a thick bar through it. The originals had been popular with the supporters of the Alliance and quite a fad. So there was no suspicion in having one- unless it was looked at in the right light. Simon still thought these things were just too damn dangerous but there you go.

It was 0200 planet-time. Another hour to go. He'd been trying to find this place for hours- the last Independent-run place that he remembered. The others were gone. He closed his eyes -for a second only, he told himself. He'd slept maybe a total of five hours over the last week- since… since his sister had been captured. He was not thinking of the other thing. Not that Rivers capture and Serenity disappearance were much easier things to think of. He didn't wake up until someone was roughly shaking his arm.

"Tam! Are you bloody suicidal or what!"

"Shit! I fell asleep in here?" He woke up, completely horrified as to the risks he'd taken tonight.

"Come on through here. Marian and Randell want to see you. It's good to have you back, Simon. Even if you seem to have done your best to get me and yourself killed since you came in."

"Well, you kinda returned the favour there with that beer…" Simon joked. A ghostly chuckle floated back through the darkness of the closed pub.

"Through here." Simon didn't quite see what Ferdetti did but suddenly there was a small opening in the back of the counter of the bar. His eyebrows shot up at the flight of stone steps leading down into blackness.

"Yes, well you were unconscious last time you went down here so I can see where it's a surprise." Simon smiled ruefully.

"Well, you said you were going underground- I just didn't realise how literally you meant it."

"Go down- and just keep going. Randell and Marian are at the bottom. I'll join you in a minute." He closed the door behind Simon and Simon found himself on the narrow steep steps in the utter blackness. He started walking- very, very carefully.

* * *

**Serenity, 8 days AC **

The ship floated through that blackness of space, seemingly as serene as her name suggested. The vastness of her surrounds made the ship seem hardly to be moving. They also made her appear so very small and fragile. However, Serenity was a tough Firefly ship, as indestructible as a cockroach- not that her crew would have appreciated the comparison! She was also moving fast and as for serene? The inside of the ship was anything but!

It was a tense silence that pervaded the ship. The ship seemed bigger without two of its crew and some of the cheer and laughter had seemingly been leached out of it. They missed the vanished members of the crew- more then some of them would ever have thought. Kaylee was working down in the engine room when her personal disaster struck. She was connecting a coupling that had had to be taken out and fixed when the ship lurched slightly and a wire snapped out of place and caught her across the hand and all up her arm, causing blood to start flowing. She yelped with the sudden pain but snapped the coupling into place before pulling out to assess the damage. It was nasty and long and she knew she couldn't work with blood dripping around. Aside from being messy and painful it was an electrical hazard. She hiked on up to sickbay without really thinking.

"Uh…Simon?" she called as she walked into the infirmary to see Zoë and Jayne inside with their own injuries and rather sheepish expressions on their faces.

"I keep forgetting…" muttered Jayne, embarrassed. Kaylee nodded mutely as she walked to the cabinet for something to close the wound. She too, kept forgetting. Especially first thing at morning, or when she was absolutely immersed in her work. And then the hurtful reminders –two empty chairs in the messhall, an empty infirmary. The silence at meals.

"How are you, Kaylee?" asked Zoë, gently. She knew as well as Inara about the budding feelings between the doctor and the mechanic- even if they'd hadn't a chance to do anything about it- or even fully acknowledge then in Simons case! Jayne, nabbing the antiseptic, poured a bit on a rather painful looking scrape down his leg that had a chunk of skin flapping off, trying to ignore the conversation above. He squawked as the antiseptic stung- he should have really been paying more attention.

"Jayne- you're supposed to dilute that you know." Kaylee pointed out, trying to distract the conversation.

"I noticed" he hissed, slamming the bottle back onto the counter. Zoë, having

sorted her own wound out in a rather less dramatic fashion, picked up the bottle and began diluting the liquid before daubing Kaylees cut for her. Kaylee winced at the stinging solution and felt sorry for Jayne. Not as sorry as he felt for himself if the look on his face was any judge though. He stuck the flap of skin back with a piece of gauze and tape and stalked back out with the remaining shreds of his dignity.

"Do you think he might need a stitch in that?" asked Kaylee, looking after him quizzically.

"Maybe- but I'm not stupid enough to suggest it to him." replied Zoë.

"I miss him, Zoë." admitted Kaylee quietly. "Them." she amended. "I miss River too- we were…becoming friends I think- although sometimes- she scared me, I guess. She, when she was- is- lucid, she's funny and kind and amazingly… brilliant, I guess. It's like I can see what she was before they did that to her. And she was really something."

"And Simon?" prompted Zoë gently. She had watched Kaylees gradual withdrawal from the rest of the crew with alarm, as had everyone else, but had been unable to do anything about it. Kaylee knew every inch of the ship and was very good at hiding without seeming to. Sudden emergency projects at mealtimes that Serenity absolutely needed doing right now seemed to be cropping up more often then not lately. Now it seemed Kaylee was finally ready to open up on the subject that was really bothering her.

"I…I don't know." whispered Kaylee after almost a minute. She looked away from Zoë as she felt the tears- never far from the surface but bravely fought against- fill her eyes. She couldn't hold them this time and with a muffled howl, flung herself into Zoës arms and sobbed. Zoë rose to the occasion well as she just held on to the girl until the storm passed, rubbing her back and speaking soothingly to her. She knew what was wrong all right. If she ever lost Wash… she would be just the same. Poor Kaylee. There was no guarantee of a happy ending this time round.

"I, I love him…" she heard from the heap of sobbing human misery.

"I know you do, Kaylee. And he loves you too, you know." Kaylee pulled herself under control and leaned back, a bit embarrassed. Zoë, now slightly soggy, leaned back as well and smiled at her.

"You feel a bit better?"

Kaylee sniffed and wiped her hand across her eyes before smiling a bit back. "A bit- sorry, Zoë…" she gestured at the large damp patch now adorning Zoë's left shoulder. Zoë laughed.

"That's not the worst this uniform has seen on it! Don't apologise for being upset,

Kaylee. We all miss them- and we will get them back, or at least we will do everything possible to do so." she added seriously. It wasn't in her nature to offer false hope or empty promises. They only made disappointment worse. "And don't give up on Simons own ingenuity- he's got a decent criminal mind as we've discovered!"

This elicited a small smile from the blushing Kaylee.

"Uh, Zoë- is it really that obvious? About…uh…me and…" she trailed off twirling

the fingers of her left hand trying to convey what she meant without admitting it out loud.

"You and Simon? Yes- I think we've all noticed. Even Jayne, which is making him a bit more antsy at the Doc lately. I'm amazed at his behaviour actually. He's almost acting like he wants to get them back. Once he couldn't wait to get them away." she added thoughtfully.

"Yeah- since the Ariel job. Simon was enthusing about how much Jayne had done to help them escape. It really turned him round. And I know Simon killed one of the Alliance soldiers as well. That affected Jaynes view on Simon too." Zoës eyebrows went up. This was news to her. Kaylee blushed again.

"_Diyu_ – I thought you already knew. I heard it from both of them. Simon was in the kitchen the night they returned and well, I couldn't sleep either. He seemed real upset about something. I eventually got it out of him." She bit her lip as she remembered. "He looked at me for the first time- before that he'd been staring into his coffee. He said:

* * *

"I killed a man today, Kaylee." His eyes were haunted as he stared into hers, looking for…what? Horror maybe. He continued restlessly, jerkily.

"When we were trying to escape- we were tied up with our legs free so we could walk. Jayne attacked his guy so I attacked mine. I wanted to just knock him out- but he kept trying to get up. Jayne and his guy were pounding all around the room and my guard was trying to get up and…" He shuddered and his eyes dropped to his cup again. He swallowed a draught of the liquid as if to try wash the taste of the memory away.

"What happened, Simon?" asked Kaylee, quietly. She could see how much this was affecting him and knew he had to get it out before it sank deep and started to fester. Most of the others wouldn't understand- Mal, Zoë, Wash, Jayne had all killed people and by this point may not even understand Simons depth of horror at what he had done. Inara- maybe, but he wasn't so close to her that he'd actively seek her out to unburden himself. Book –had killed too. Maybe Simon would have gone to him but Kaylee doubted it somehow. Simon wouldn't look at her this time, ashamed and sickened at the memory.

"I kneeled on his throat and watched him suffocate." He said it almost coldly, detached and clinical, but Kaylee could see his eyes and the anguish that was just under the surface. He continued before she could say anything else.

"He clawed at my knee and his eyes were bulging. I could see his face turn blue and his eyes reddish as the blood vessels popped in them. I looked into that mans eyes as I murdered him. And now I can't see anything else but his eyes…" He looked at his hands. "I'm a doctor, Kaylee. I'm supposed to heal, not kill. There was an ancient oath that doctors took, back on Earth-that-was. The Hippocratic Oath- 'First do no harm'. And I've tried… but today…. And River –River saw me do it. She saw her brother become a killer!"

Kaylee jumped up and went to the other side of the table and hugged him.

"You are not a murderer or a killer, Simon! Listen to me! You are not!" she told him forcefully, making him look at her. "The very fact that you are torn up inside about it now proved to me that you aren't! Yes, you killed that man. And in doing so probably saved the lives of all three of you-just as Jayne did when he broke the neck of the other guy. Yes, I know about what happened." to Simons surprised look. "You didn't go in there looking for a fight but one found you anyway. And it's a hard thing to accept but it happens. You defended yourself, your sister and your crewmate. You killed him because if you didn't he would have killed you- or handed you over to the Alliance which would amount to pretty much the same thing. So don't call yourself a killer."

"Kaylee- this isn't the first time I've killed. Just the first time I've done it so deliberately. But…thank you." He washed out his cup and put it back into the cupboard. "Good night, Kaylee."

He left Kaylee confused and worried for him, but hoping that the consuming guilt had been at least eased slightly.

* * *

"Hmm…" said Zoë, surprised, when Kaylee had told her the salient details of what had passed between herself and Simon. "Well, I know what he meant about it not being the first time. Remora told us that River and Simon fought their way out of the complex when things went nasty last time Simon went for River. They killed a few people at swordpoint. But he's right- killing people in the heat of battle is one thing. Killing a person in that situation will haunt you. But you were wrong about the rest of us not feeling what he does about killing. I hate it- but I will do it if I have to- to protect myself or my friends. I remember every person I've killed –I'll never forget them. And with each person, I'll always wonder was there any other way that could've gone down. If I'd been faster/ braver/thought quicker- could I have spared that person? But I pack it away- as do the others. I understand how Simon feels about that- he's not a natural killer. In many ways, he's as…I don't really know what word…innocent, I guess, of killing and of the real world although he's learning fast."

"Well, he got a big dose that day," said Kaylee with a note of bitterness. "I hope he doesn't lose it all. He's…he's Simon and I don't want him to change."

"I hope not too, Kaylee."

* * *

**Under Demera City- Independents Headquarters- 7-9 days AC **

Simon was supposed to be changing though. He was to change into clothes that wouldn't 'mark him as an offworlder to every flamin' eejit that wanders in, are you completely out of your mind?' as an exasperated Randall pointed out loudly.

"Nice to see you too, Randall." replied Simon looking sideways at Marian with an eyebrow crooked questioningly. She threw up her hands and rolled her eyes from her advantage point behind her cousin.

"You haven't see the guy in two years and the first thing you do is shout at him?"

"Seems like an appropriate response." shrugged Randall. He turned back to Simon and smiled, shaking his head ruefully. "Yeah, I guess I could've said we're glad you're still alive- and that knowing your trouble and who is after you, I'm surprised you are even that!" Simon opened his mouth and closed it again as he swayed slightly and nearly fell over.

"Simon? Simon!" But he wasn't really listening any more as the dark tunnel at the bottom of the stairs changed directions before receding into the black.

As he woke up he could hear voice floating around a pounding head.

"What the hell has been happening to him? Bring him into the light…"

"_Tamade diyu_! What has he done to his head? Why's he so thin?"

"How the hell should I know? Add it to your list of questions for later. God knows, I am."…

…"Urgh…his hair is full of this muck- Sand and blood fuse well I guess."

"Do you reckon we'll have to cut it off?"

"Do you know what Simon would say to me if I cut off his hair? I'd start running now!"

This last, more then anything was what helped Simon regain a better hold on consciousness. The damn slipping in and out was driving him nuts. Hey! His hair? He moved his arm from where it was in…water? and opened his eyes again. Bright light swam into view with fuzzy faces. He closed them again quickly as they streamed.

"Sorry Simon- hit the light, would you Randall?"

Only a dim glow assaulted his eyes the next time he cautiously tried opening them. He'd obviously slipped back out again after closing his eyes the last time. No-one was there this time and he was lying in a bed for the first time in a week. It was comfortable and warm… and quiet. He started to shake as the memory of the sand came back to him. It had been close and warm too. And suffocating. Oh God- he was suffocating! With a strangled yell, he fell out of the bed with a thump, getting tangled up in the cover as he did so. The shock helped jar him awake as people rushed into the room.

"Simon! Are you okay?" The voice was familiar.

"Phil, is that you?" he asked, confused.

"It is, indeed- and wondering what's with the bloomin' dramatics, eh? First the entrance, which everyone is talking about- did you really drink half a glass of Ferditti's finest? No wonder Marian's been worried. She thought you'd keeled over for good. Two days, it seems." he chattered on, while helping Simon to his feet.

""Phil- I thought you were dead?" Phil laughed.

"Nah, mate- case of mistaken identity, it seems. Bloke had been blown into about forty pieces but for reasons unknown- wishful thinking probably- the feds thought it was me and informed my family so. Still breathing though. Nearly gave everyone heart failure when I waltzed in a week later."

Simon snorted. "I bet you did. So- where is everyone? Can I talk to Marian? Is everyone still okay? What time is it?"

"Whoa there and hold the hosses, please. Firstly- I don't know if you're allowed up yet. Marian might hurt me if I let you out…" Simon glared at him.

"Okay, okay- sign your own damn release papers doc! Come on, through here. Most of the old group is still alive- not young Rinny, Marilee Stevens, Jerome or- I'm sorry, Simon, but Yolande was killed two months ago. Bomb." Simon closed his eyes briefly as he absorbed the news. Yolande. And Jer- always the joker and seemingly never pensive or sad, but always ready to cheer up those who were. And young Rinny- taken in by Thoms Edwards, an uncle, after his parents had died in a terrorist attack. And sweet little Marilee Stevens who reminded him of Kaylee in many ways, from her sunshiny cheerfulness to her intelligent curiosity in the world around her. A cruel violent world which had shut those innocent questing eyes forever.

He nodded sadly, his eyes and heart full of tears that he would have no time to shed yet. He didn't trust his voice yet and Phil didn't force him, walking on a bit to give Simon the chance to recover from the shock of the revelations. He led him down a darkened corridor to a door and pushed it open.

"Hey, the sleeping mildly pretty is up if you want to talk to it!" he joked to the

people beyond, leading Simon in. Simon glared at him as he passed and Phil made a mocking bow. Nice to have something normal. He could only imaging how Phil must have been at the loss of Jerome- his long time best friend.

"Simon!" A woman detached herself from the small crowd of well-wishers and people welcoming him.

"Marian! I'm sorry for uh… collapsing on you back there…"

"Well, you should be ashamed for letting yourself get into such a state? What the hell have you been doing with yourself? This has something to do with River, doesn't it?" He nodded, and she turned briskly around.

"Okay, Wonderboy has made his appearance for tonight- you'll get to speak to him tomorrow."

"And you charge extra for photos!" called out some smartass from the back to laughter.

"Five credits a photo and twenty for Drewe in the back there!" she sassed back with a grin at the guilty party. Simon smiled, even though the joke was on him. He'd missed the camaraderie of this place and these people. It reminded him of _Serenity_ now. Actually, everything did. But this- the 'family- effect', the jokes, the atmosphere, the constant risk of capture and/or death, the wondering how to get food on the table, the unfriendly Alliance soldiers just around the corner, he reminded himself dourly. Yup- this place was familiar, all right!

"Come on Simon. Randell, Phil, Namara, Hesten, Jo, John, Kitty- come through, would you? This group okay with you?" she asked Simon belatedly. He nodded. This was just the old group- what was left of it anyway. The group he'd lucked in with when he was trying to figure out a way to save his sister the first time, and they were figuring how to save a planet. They'd helped each other out- Simon helped them as medic and they'd helped him save River. He'd stayed a while longer but knew he'd have to leave before the Alliance connected him to anyone in the group. They'd smuggled him and his sister out on an outbound ship and he'd never been able to go back. He felt kind of bad that his first return was because he needed help, not that he could give it.

"It's good to see you again, even I have a feeling the circs aren't good." Namara hugged him as she came in the door into the room beyond, a small conference hall with a large table in the room. The others added their greetings and Simon got variously hugged or had his hand shaken by the people filing in. They sat around the table inside and they waited to hear what he had to say. Simon paused for a second looking around at the once- familiar faces- and the empty seats. He looked down at the table for a second.

"I was sorry to hear about Rinny, Marilee, Jerome and… Yolande" he said quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. How could he not have known? Somehow…as he felt sure he would know if something ever happened to River –or Kaylee. John, beside him, put a hand on his arm and spoke.

"I'm sorry you had to hear it all at once- Simon, they didn't know…if that's any help. Yolande and Rinny were both in the bomb- Marilee in a shootout and Jerome of a heart-attack. They were all sudden. We don't think any of them suffered." It was a cold comfort but it helped. He'd forgotten the world these people lived in. The world he and his sister had been a part of for a while. He nodded and forced his feelings down as much as possible. The rest of the group had done the same thing- it wasn't that they didn't feel; they would always feel the pain of losing friends. But they would force it down until a time when they had leisure to grieve. After the war maybe.

"What's the situation here?" he asked. The others glanced at each other.

"It's not that we don't trust you, Simon…" started Jo awkwardly.

"But we can't trust you, Simon." finished John bluntly. Simon nodded understanding his reasons.

"John! You were here last time round. He saved your life- and risked his own being involved with us. And risked it even more when he saved Kitty- or do you not remember that?" Simon winced- alienating John or splitting the council wasn't what he'd come for.

"But I've been away for a while and you don't know has been going on since. Or if River's being held hostage or something- something that they'd have a hold on me to hurt you." he explained Johns reluctance in the best way he could. John nodded, not quite meeting his eye.

"I understand- and I'm sorry. I would never do anything to harm you- you saved our lives- mine and Rivers. And, anyway, if I went near the Alliance I'd probably be shot on sight. It's only River they want alive- I can be either." he finished with a grim smile. "Anyway- you took enough of a risk taking me in –so thanks."

Marian leaned across. "It ain't all one sided- you did your own sweet share last time. Now, _shenme shibu duima_? And where's River?"

Simon took a deep breath. "River's the problem. We escaped and joined the crew of a ship. They accepted us –eventually." he added wryly. "Anyway- I was working on a cure for what those… what they did to her. And I think it was working. I found out with the help of these people what they did to her…It was –horrific…I –I don't…"

"Take your time, Simon. We will help if we can. What did they do? What happened" asked Josephina Paor gently. Marian, Jo and big Hesten had been particularly fond of River and he wasn't sure if he wanted to burden them with the details of what they'd done to her. However, Jo was a doctor herself and maybe another mind on the problem might help.

"They cut into her brain- repeatedly. And she remembers- I have reason to believe she was aware when they did it. They removed her amygdala. It was –torture, is the best word I have to describe it." Jo sat back, horrified and the look on her face was duplicated on those of the others.

"_Dia-mala_! The…"

"_Tamade dongwu_ _fangui shi…" _Other responses weren'tas vocal, but no less heartfelt. Marian looked sick- "That poor child. How is she doing, now?"

"She was doing okay- I was trying a new medication, so she wouldn't feel things as strongly." At the confused looks Jo quickly explained the functions of the amydala in repressing emotions. "She feels everything at full strength, Hesten, she can't not. It's an evil thing they did…"

"Anyway- she was captured again in a surprise raid by the Alliance. That is what they are going to do to her again. And this time, she doesn't even have the hope that I can help her- she thinks I'm dead- so do the Alliance if it comes to that." He explained the circumstances of the attack as best he knew, and then paused. He'd managed to avoid mentioning the name of the sadistic madman who'd buried him alive.

"I'm sorry, Hesten- it was Robert." Instead of the infuriated denial he'd expected from Hesten Makgehenna, there was silence. Hesten had closed his eyes and was running his hands through his hair.

"Once, I'd've, I don't know… probably beaten you up for what you just said –but now? I know he hates you, Simon. What you did to him has fixated him on you. I knew that if he found you he'd kill you. I just didn't know he'd gotton so bad. He's my brother but he's a stranger to me now. Neither of us are part of our family any more- and we're on opposite sides. I'm sorry for what he did to you. And to River. Excuse me for a minute." Hesten stood up and left the room, his face closed off to the world around him.

"I'm sorry –I didn't want to… I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. He'll be okay. He just needs time." Marian looked after Hesten too.

"Just give him time."

**Serenity,9 days AC**

"Mal! The bridge. We're getting a transmission…It's from Dencelos." came over the radio as Mal woke up with a start. He grabbed the radio from beside the bed.

"Okay- I'm coming up now." He scrambled up the ladder in double-quick time. He'd been racking his brains as to just what exactly they were going to do once they got to Porthidion. They'd taken a long route- going out of their way to reach Dencelos in the hope that the Remora could give them some information. Or possibly to kill her for dumping them to the Alliance. Instead they'd taken a damn job for her. He paused outside the bridge, so as not to appear out of breath, before casually walking inside. It was the Remora herself on the flickery screen. He was quite impressed that her radio was broadcasting so far. They were just in a good spot so Mal ordered the ship to a halt so they wouldn't lose transmission.

"I have info for you about your friend. From intercepted Alliance records. There's a possibility that he went to a different planet first- Mathesta, a semi- core planet with a history of civic and political unrest. One of the few under- developed planets that really put up a fight about assimilation. It seems Simon Tam has had contact with the Underground Independent Movement there. With a man called Lessin Ferdetti. That's all I got out of the official reports but my own sources tell me he runs a rather seedy bar in the Second City- Demera. A front for the Movement as far as I can tell. He used to be a recruiter but was recognised and had to go into hiding, after being beaten badly by Alliance loyalists. I'm sorry- not got much more info then that- except that the Tams were involved with this bunch last time round- I think they might have helped Simon get his sister out. He's on file there as being a known Independent sympathiser. So he's wanted on that planet too. What I'm saying is- low profile; at least- lower then you kept on Dencelos." She signed off before Mal got the chance to cut her off. He stood speechless for a second before snapping at his pilot who was unsuccessfully not-grinning.

"Course for Mathesta." and stomped out. Bloody woman! It was entirely her blasted fault that they were in this situation at all. Keep a low profile! Ahem- well yes- okay, she might have a point. But even so! He stalked off down the corridor muttering to himself, watched by a grimly amused Wash who remembered the planet and set the course. Mathesta was it? Oh joy. He was going home.

Inara remembered this planet too. How could she not? It was one of the first planets she had visited as part of her job. Not that the highly- ranked Alliance soldier had _lived_ there! He was part of an official tour of the Inner Planets of the Alliance. And he'd needed a partner for the many official celebrations, parties and balls of the tour. And, not having a partner of his own- he had used Inara's charm and training for his purposes. Funnily enough, this particular mission had not required her…other talents. He'd been an uptight, hard-working pencil-pusher and probably hadn't even thought about it she'd figured. Though she'd still been young and green enough to be unsure as to whether to be offended or not. She'd since realised that there were other reasons that he'd not 'taken advantage' of her services. He'd lost his place in the military over them. It seemed 'don't ask, don't tell' was still in operation. It was daft, really- he'd been a good man- and a good soldier- medals for bravery and quick thinking in combat. Before he'd been injured in the field and forced to a desk- job that he'd performed scrupulously and dedicatedly. When they'd publicly humiliated him and dismissed him from the army they'd made a very dangerous enemy.

What was his name again?

* * *

**Simon, Mathesta, 10 days AC **

"So, we need to get you in and out again, yeah? It's kinda funny that you should arrive now. We need your help as well, I think." Simon had finished his tale and now turned to Kitty who smiled at him.

"Don't worry- it won't take you out of your way. It's inside the complex." She paused for a second, glancing around the table for reassurance that she was doing the right thing. Marian nodded and John folded his arms and looked away scowling.

"We sent an op in- almost two months ago- her name is Sedae Remora…"

"Remora! I know that name…" Simon concentrated. He could feel that damn name floating… There were still gaps in his recent memory. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry- it'll come to me. Go on."

"She came to us for much the same reasons as did you- her younger brothers are being held in that place as well. She was injured in an Alliance raid on a suspected Independent hideout. It wasn't one as a matter of fact. Jo found her and brought her here." John snorted and muttered something about 'waifs and bloody strays'.

"You started off as a stray too until we took you in." put in Phil mildly. John said nothing but his skin flushed a slightly darker pink.

"Anyway- she'd lost her memory in the attack; didn't know her name, her purpose on the planet- anything. So she joined us. Became an op. And about three months ago- just before she was going to try infiltrate Porthidion, her memory started coming back in flashes. She remembered her name and her brothers. She was even more determined to get in. She wanted to rescue them. Can't blame her really. But we had to take her off the mission- too much danger she'd go rogue trying to find the kids. She did a runner in the night- we think she got into the base and was captured.

"Find out what happened to her, Simon. She was a good kid- she didn't deserve to be captured. If you can- try rescue her- you probably can't but if-" Simon nodded slowly. This mission was getting more and more impossible by the minute.

"Why was she in there?" At the glances around him he grimaced.

"Look, if I'm doing this- I need information! You need to trust me. Why was she in there- where was she headed when she was captured -what do you know about her that I need to?"

"It's not that…well okay- it is that…but also, we think it might involve your sister. The 'intelligence programme"-

"That necessitates the torture and killing of kids!" grunted Hesten as, pale but walking with his usual deliberateness, he came in.

"We think they may be developing a weapon involving these exceptionally powerful minds."

"Like…psychokinesis?"

"Possibly. That's what Sedae- or her replacement at least- was to find out. We think she probably would've tried to complete the mission anyway. She was very- duty-led, if that makes sense."

"What happened to the replacement?"

"Killed the next day. We didn't send in anyone else- yet."

"Sa you get me in- and I'm the replacement?" he asked. Marian nodded. "We can't afford to send in many people or they'll get suspicious all the faster. I'm sorry, I wish we could do this purely altruistically. We care about River, but we need information too."

Simon nodded agreement. "You get me into Porthidion and I'll do all I can. Can you do what you did last time- the pulse?"

"We can give you the means to do it yourself from inside. We'll outfit you tomorrow. That's when you'll try get in."

* * *

**Serenity- 11 days AC **

"Needle in a ruttin' haystack." grumbled Jayne as he stomped down the ramp and onto hot sand. He kicked a pebble, raising a puff of sandy dust. The sand blowing caught his attention and he was surprised by a sudden shiver as the thoughts came unbidden of being trapped under the dry gritty surface. He shook his head to rid himself if the image and looked up, accidentally catching Mal's eye and looking away. He'd seen the same thought in Mals face too. Makgehenna was it? He still didn't like the doc that much but he was still going to kill that Alliance captain for what he'd done. Looking around at the faces around him he realised he wasn't the only one to feel this way- little Kaylee, Mal and Zoë looked resolved and in the cases of the latter two, frankly scary. Inara and Book were as inscrutable as always and Wash was stuck back on the ship making sure there was no trouble and, if necessary, preparing for a getaway. Someone would relieve him in a while.

"Demera City is a big place- how are we gonna find this guy?" asked Kaylee.

"Remora gave me a rough address- a southside pub called, originally enough- the Southside. We can't mention this guys name much- he's wanted and keeping his head down- talking too much about him will call attention to us and to him."

They were in twos again- Kaylee and Jayne, Mal and Book this time and

Zoë and Inara. Each of the more vulnerable parties with someone who could protect them if necessary. Though Mal knew Inara's identity would afford protection at the highest levels. And he had a sneaking suspicion that Book wasn't as unprotected as he seemed. That only left Kaylee as a 'weaker party'. And though he wouldn't be sure about leaving River, the doc or Inara under Jaynes 'protection'- he knew that Jayne would watch out for little Kaylee who had somehow gotten under that thick skin. Book was the other one that Jayne seemed to have a friendship with - or a truce anyway.

And so to the search.

After almost three hours in the hot scorching sun with no luck, Book, who wasn't used to this sort of heat was sent back to relieve Wash before he got sunstroke. Wash was lurking near the entrance in a half- hopeful state of trepidation. Book, tired and hot as he was, noticed.

"Is there something the matter, Wash?" he asked, surprised at the younger mans jumpiness.

"Er, no! Um… well, yeah-ish. Kind of." he stammered, not quite meeting the Sheperds eye. The Shepherd in question raised his eyebrow enquiringly. The words came out of Wash with a certain amount of reluctance.

"Erm…I was born two streets from here. I ran away when I was sixteen. I've never been back since. Embarrassed maybe, I guess."

"And do you want to go and see your family again?" asked the Shepherd gently, realising Wash's difficulties. It was a hard situation to be in. Even if it was probably self- inflicted.

"I don't know." he replied honestly. "I really don't… I was never close to my father- he left. Mother remarried- the usual. Didn't like my stepfather. Maybe I was just lookin' for attention- I don't know. Anyway- packed my bags at sixteen- haven't looked back." He laughed disparagingly. "Dunno if they even noticed to tell you the truth- I had seven brothers and sisters- and Michel brought four more older boys into the family. Charming bunch they were I remember."

"And your siblings? Were you close to any of them?" Wash's face softened.

"Yeah- little Charrie- Charlotte was her name, three years younger and a great kid. I can understand why Simon did what he did for his sister- I'd've done the same for Charrie. And Ippy too. He was a year older then me and I looked up to him the same way Charrie did to me."

"So why did you leave them behind?"

"Charrie was sick a lot of her life- lung fever. She couldn't've coped with this lifestyle- she'd've loved it though! And Ippy was always more conservatives then me. He wanted to stay- told me to get away if I could though. Knew I hated this place. Told me to get out before I got 'prenticed or somehow tied down. Once that happens that's it. He said he'd look after Charrie. I said I'd return. Heard that Charrie had died of the lung- fever a while later. Always felt…I don't know- too damn guilty I guess- to go back."

"And now?"

"Well, I'm back. Guess I will go see them. See Fern and Ippy anyway. _They_ probably won't throw stuff."

"Well, if you want to go now I'll watch Serenity. Mal knows."

"He _knows_!"

"Well, he guessed something was up anyway."

"Which was why he sent you I guess?" He shook his head ruefully at Mals duplicity. "Well, how's the search going?"

"Not great. Tell you what- seeing as you have relatives in this area- maybe you should find out." Wash stared at him for a second.

"You know- I can't believe I actually didn't think of that. I feel kinda stupid." he walked down the ramp indeed feeling 'kinda stupid' He paused at the bottom and felt the barely remembered Demaran sunshine on his face.

"Well- I'm back." he muttered before going to find his brothers.

His family had all upped and moved out it seemed as there was nobody he recognised living in the narrow street that he'd once called home. Until he spotted a youngish woman sweeping a step in front of her house on the corner.

"Excuse me, Ma'am?" he started politely and stopped as she looked up sharply. She blinked and stared at him for a second before seeming to dismiss the notion. Wash however, was having much the same reaction- only he was finding it harder to dismiss.

"Sarah?" he asked. She froze again and looked back at him. She dropped the broom and fled inside. Wash paused for a second wondering what to do. Suddenly he was descended upon by a laughing, welcoming, chattering crowd of people that he barely recognised. He saw one or two children being sent off running in opposite directions before the crowd engulfed him.

"Wash! It's me!" cried one young woman about two or three years younger than himself.

" I'm sorry-" he looked closer at the tanned, mischievous face framed with pale blonde hair. He recognised her.

"Charrie?" he whispered having trouble getting his voice to behave. The crowd had pulled back a bit from their oblivious relative.

"It's me, Wash- don't you recognise me?"

"Well yeah, but, but I got a message from Ippy about a year after I left- he said you had died! I thought you were…?"

"Yeah- we found out what'd happened with that. I was very sick at that time…hang on a minute- why don't we go inside instead of hanging about on the doorstep…" she glanced around at the various family members to see if they agreed. The crowd had grown bigger in the meantime and there were small faces Wash didn't recognise. He'd become an uncle several times over in those missing years it seemed. Sarah led the way back inside and Wash and his family began the serious business of catching up on ten years of lost time.

* * *

To be continued- if you like it please tell me. Hell- if you don't like it, tell me. Just so I know people are reading it…

Anrea aka Aries aka Annere

* * *

**Translations:**

I'm not sure where these come from- they're floating around on the show and ones I have seen, so if there's any mistakes please point them out.

Tamade dongwu- fucking animals

Diwu- Hell

Fangui shi –foul shit

gos se- shit

shenme shibu duima - what's wrong?

_Dia-mala_! You know, I knew what that meant when I wrote it. Think random shocked exclamation.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

_

* * *

Thank you so much to:_

angw- My first reviewer! Thank you so much- I like Simon, this fics been floating around my head for a while

* * *

Missjasadin- sorry, this one's rather shorter, but more will be coming, when this pesky Leaving Certificate is done...

* * *

Guardian- thanks- i'm getting there!

* * *

smeg1- I try to avoid making people cry so just for you- the next section rather earlier then planned!

* * *

And I promise the next section will be longer

Thank you so much- you guys rock!

**Part Two (the short bit)**

**Simon, Independents HQ, Mathesda**

Simon was also catching up on lost time. He was ready to try infiltrate Porthidion Science Base, the most securely guarded Government base in this region. Again. The only thing he had in his advantage were the fact that he was supposed to be dead and buried on a backwater desert planet at the arse end of the galaxy. His other advantage was the pulse weapon which, Hesten and River had designed and a team of scientists had built. It was what had saved them last time. Now, he just hoped they hadn't found some way around it or he would be in the serious _gos se._

"They officially think you just got lucky last time and didn't have anything to do with the power strike last time" Marian told him, giving him the hand held beacon affair. He turned it over.

"Hey, it's smaller."

"Yeah- Hesten's pet project after you and River left last time- he was absolutely obsessed with it. This time it should disrupt even projectile weapons as well as laser- types." He glanced up at her in surprise and she shook her head.

"Don't even ask- I have no idea. But that was the major weakness last time around and you were damn lucky. Now they carry projectiles thanks to you. This will give you the edge. Hope you're still as good with a sword." she added, the smile leaving her face. Simon nodded. He hoped he was as well. He hadn't really gotten much of a chance to practice onboard Serenity. When they left Mathseda it was with very little and a sword was a bit of a giveaway. He had it back and he touched the hilt for reassurance. In the kitbag on his back he had Rivers weapons- a pair of ancient Japanese katana that she had been very good with.

It was strange for a doctor to be a swordsman, he mused. Proper swordsman, not merely a duelist. But even as a child he had just taken naturally to it, when his training started for dueling. The man- recognized as one of the best in his day, had taught the quiet twelve year old all he knew and talked another man out of retirement to teach him and his sister (that had taken some doing). Hand-to-hand, gun, whatever- he knew he was rubbish at those, but he didn't know anyone apart from River who could best him at this. (And even River only about half the time)

He was dressed as an Alliance soldier-medic with uniform and kitbag on his back. His ID identified him as Major- Doctor Jonathan Archer, age 29 with twelve years experience in the forces as a medic. It ought to be enough to get him inside anyway. On ce he was in though it would be entirely his own wits to rely on in getting two- no, four people out, he reconsidered. There was no way that this Sedae would leave her brothers behind -he recognized that. He also knew that while he would do what he could for the others, River was, and always would be, his first priority.

It was a days flight to Porthidion and he left his rebel family at nightfall- the station didn't have days or nights only shifts and he wanted to arrive at changeover. He was refreshed after his two days (two days!) erm, enforced sleep (i.e. unconsciousness) and he could now think, plan and…worry.

There were a lot of things to worry about. Was River still there? What if they'd brought her somewhere else? How was he supposed to find this Sedae (assuming she was even alive) And her brothers? Was the Section still in the same place? Was this a trap? (Unlikely- he was 'dead' and anyway they didn't particularly want him) Dead. Crap- guess that meant he was dead as far as _Serenity_ was concerned too. Not that there was any way they could find them even if they really wanted to- and they'd caused enough trouble with the Alliance for any captain to be glad to wash his hands of them, he thought ruefully. Jayne would be happy anyway- insofar as he ever was! He wished he knew how Kaylee was though. Kaylee… he wondered would ever see her again and was forced to conclude, sadly, no- in all likelyhood- even if he did survive this particular episode and he and River went on the run again. Space was big and _Serenity_ very good at keeping a low profile. And anyway, did they want to find her again, just to put them all in danger? Put Kaylee in danger? Not that their chosen lifestyle was exactly safe but that wasn't the point. He shook his head again. He and River would be on their own again. Maybe they'd rejoin the Independents on Mathesta- from the looks of it a full rebellion might be taking place soon- and when that time came they'd need a medic and a genius with mechanics like his sister. Hell, they might even succeed!

* * *

**Serenity, Mathesta- Day 11**

It was nightfall on day ten when they retired back to the ship- Wash had taken some dragging out but Mal didn't want to leave any of his crew on their own on a planet with such a strong Alliance presence. Family didn't count as not on his own, was his rather convoluted reasoning.

Wash arrived into the Mess last, just behind Zoë with a wide grin on his face, which seemed rather out of place, considering. They started to eat dinner (protein stuff! Yay!) and volunteered what they'd discovered. Wash had eaten already so he went first while the others ate.

"Charrie is an Independent- not all my family are so keeping quiet on that. Would you believe- she knows Simon? Last year she lived with the Independents for a while- during the fighting, and met him when he'd escaped with River the first time. She told me- she was very cagey about this so the quieter we keep it the better- where to find Lessin Ferdetti.." People looked up with interest- Kaylee in particular.

"This guy was a recruiter and all that- like the Remora said. After the resistance went underground he opened a pub on the Southside, called, funnily enough, The Southside. It's not a great part of town, where being too different is likely to get you beaten up or shot, so we keep our heads down and don't attract attention. Even the Alliance soldiers don't go in there unless in groups."

"Why is the Southside so bad?" asked Book with interest.

"The Independents headquarters last time round. The Demera City rebellion was the most serious- nearly succeeded- whole Southside rose up and it spread to the Northside. They just had very bad luck is all. Nearly wiped out. Southside is still bitter so they're being kept down. Stupid really- from the sounds of it, it's almost ready to go up again."

"Who are the 'vested interests"?" asked Zoë.

"Same as usual- Alliance pander to the rich- give 'em the chance to get richer, the status quo stays statusy."

"How are we to get in contact with this guy, if going there is likely to cause trouble?"

"She gave me this." Wash held up what looked like an Alliance token- small copper coin with the Alliance crest on it. Mal raised his eyebrows questioningly. Wash looked at it again.

"Dunno- guess there's something strange about it 'cos she seemed certain that it'd work."

"No offence Wash, but she seems kinda…trusting." started Mal. "I mean- she hasn't seen you in years and for all she knows you could be Alliance in which case she'd have sold out the whole movement." Wash shook his head.

"She knew about Simon." He frowned. "Actually, if I didn't know better, I'd say there was some history there…" He bit his tongue, realising that that wasn't perhaps the brightest thing in the world to say and conspicuously didn't look at Kaylee.

"Actually, no- damn…" he muttered as Kaylee stood up and excused herself. After she left the room Zoë hit him on the shoulder in remonstration.

"Ow… yes okay- it was a dumb thing to say. " to everyone else's glares. "What I didn't get to say was…." He shook his head and followed Kaylee.

Kaylee was down in the engine room staring at a piece of recalctriciant engine. He sat down beside her.

"What I should have perhaps mentioned is that my sister has had a steady relationship for almost three years now with a rather nice girl from Radharc- bout ten klicks north of Demera and has apparently not shown the slightest sliver of interest In males in almost six years now. There is definitely no history there." Kaylee stared at the engine again, processing this.

"Oh…" she whispered, in a bit of confusion.

"My people actually have very little problem with same- sex relationships. It's considered to be the individuals choice- unless there's a family name to be carried on or something."

Kaylee nodded, only half listening, although she would find that interesting later on. Wash stood up, sensing that the girl wanted to be on her own for a little while.

"It looks like we have a good lead from what Charrie said- we'll find this place tomorrow and find our guy." Kaylee smiled shakily. As Wash started to stand up she looked like she wanted to say something and he paused.

"Wash…." She paused as well and he waited patiently. "Why…why didn't he wait for us?" she finally asked. Wash suspected that the last word might have as easily been 'me'- why didn't he wait for me? He sat down again.

"Well, he was probably in shock and still had that whack on the head from earlier- perhaps he wasn't entirely thinking straight. And the ship was apparently gone- he might have thought we thought he was dead or captured- last thing he would've remembered is spreading the hay for the cattle in the bay. And didn't that woman- Fidelma? say that he didn't want to put you in danger?" He suspected it as the last that she most needed to hear. "He was going to do something dangerous- get River back, and didn't want to risk you getting hurt too. I guess he didn't wait 'cos he loves ya, Kaylee." Kaylee froze for a second then nodded slowly. Wash took it as his signal to leave and quietly did so.

Kaylee stared at the engine piece again before, slowly, mechanically, starting to work on it.

* * *

**Demera Town- 12 days AC**

"Did your sister give any more specific directions?" groaned Mal to Wash after they'd walked what seemed to be most of the hot, dusty roads of Mathesta's Second City.

Wash frowned. "We should have passed it twice. I don't get it…"

Mals face had a 'wild goose chase' expression, which Wash saw and shrugged at. It had been decided only two should go- try not to spook the locals if they did find this Ferdetti guy.

"Hang on- this is it…" said Wash relieved as he dived down a side street. Mal followed at a more sedate pace, grumbling. He stopped outside an ancient and depressed-looking pub that had obviously seen better days. It looked like the owner had fallen on hard times- then fallen off them and off the damn cart altogether.

"Doesn't look like a front for anything much…" muttered Mal to Wash who shrugged.

"If it did look like a front it'd be a bit pointless." he noted.

"True."

They hiked inside and the place fell silent. They could feel eyes focussed on them and it was all Mal could do not to be holding some sort of weapon at least. They ignored the unfriendly customers and went to the bar. Mal ordered two beers and passed the crossed Alliance token on top of the money. The barman glanced at it unconcernedly and wandered back over with change. He slowly put them on the counter.

"Not from around here, are ya?" he asked.

"No- my sister, Marie suggested this place."

"Marie- that girl with the red hair?" he asked, unconcernedly. This was the 'code'

"Nah- she dyed it black last week. Looking for a change." Mal looked on with eyebrows carefully not raised. But he wanted them to be.

"Here." the barman grunted, tossing back a couple of small coins. Wash took them and they walked down to an empty table.

It was nearly closing time. They had wandered off and come back in time to order some beer as an excuse to be there. The man served them with a scowl. This beer tasted okay. It wasn't congealing to the bottom of the glass anyway. Neither of them drank much of it, which made what happened next rather surprising.

* * *

_Little cliffhanger there. Well okay, not really. Anyways, please tell me your reactions! This is my first Firefly fanfic sooo… :)_

_Please?_


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